


(Oh Yeah!) I Will Rock Your World

by themidgardiansongstress



Series: 6901: A Grumpy Space Odyssey [2]
Category: Game Grumps, Space Grumps - Fandom
Genre: Multi, To a point, based on mad max fury road
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-16 22:52:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 46
Words: 25,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11838666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themidgardiansongstress/pseuds/themidgardiansongstress
Summary: In which we have to break up a drug ring, I guess. Also Suzy is there. Part 2 of 6901: A Grumpy Space Odyssey. This first chapter is almost entirely oc heavy, but the grumps will return soon.





	1. Prologue: Nothing Is Born, Everything Is Created

“It’s like this.” The Blue Goddess of Creation explained, turning to The First God. “You take the StarMatter in your hands, and let its’ energy guide you.” She took a handful of what looked like clear plastic, filled with shimmering, sparkling energy. “You see? This being will be a man, a warrior, like yourself. He’ll live a strange, perilous life, but in the end, he will be humbled by those he was meant to destroy.” Blue shuddered at the thought of destruction. 

She hated that word, and what it implied, all of the Goddesses did, in one way or another. They were meant to create. 

“I still don’t understand. Why create these beings at all? What purpose do these inhabitants serve?” The First God asked. 

“I don’t know about the others, but I create because I want to give Creation purpose.” She smiled wistfully, breaking off enough StarMatter to make one being. “Here. Try it. I’ll keep working with the StarMatter I have.” Blue wandered off to continue creating, sitting down to face away from The First God. 

By this point, he’d already been plotting. The hatred in his heart, planted there when he saw the creation he was not to rule, had blossomed into a poisonous, sickening growth. He resented the Goddesses, and wished to rule Creation on his own. 

Holding the StarMatter in his hands,  he came up with a contingency plan. He set to work, molding the being in his hands.

“Are you done?” Blue asked, approaching him with the beings she had created. 

“I believe I am.” He smiled, showing her the man he’d made. 

Blue let out a burst of laughter. “What strange hair!” She laughed. 

“Yes, his hair.” Well, let her notice that about him. 

“Place him in the Stream of Time. I’m done with these.” She held up the two beings she’d made. “A small piece of this warrior broke off, but I’ll use it in the next being.” Blue explained, approaching the Stream. 

She placed the Warrior and the woman she had made into the Stream, letting it whisk them away into the history of Creation. 

The First God placed the man he’d made into the Stream, grinning to himself as time carried him away. ‘Goodbye, Vessel. May you welcome me into your mind when the time comes.’ 

\------

What seemed like eons later, a woman named Mera Espa Ranza was giving birth on the International Space Station, orbiting the Earth. 

Thanks to she and her husband's’ contributions to the field of space travel, they were picked to be among the first group of astronauts to live in space on the ISS 

But the months between system maintenance are long, and when NASA learned of Mera’s pregnancy, there were equal measures of support and opposition within its’ ranks. On one side, people were gripped with terror over the results of staying in zero gravity for the majority of a pregnancy, and past birth. 

Others were ecstatic at the scientific significance of the first human being to give birth in space. 

In the end, it was Mera’s decision. 

Now, nine months later, she was giving birth in the MedWing of the ISS, unaware of the scientific implications of her labor. 

She gripped her husband, Perry’s hand, giving one last push as a warbled cry broke through the fog of pain that enveloped her head. Mera looked down as her daughter was placed in her arms, the squirming mass of life calming once she felt her mother’s embrace. 

“Hey you.” Mera whispered, laughing weakly. Perry kissed Mera’s head, looking down at their daughter. 

“She’s got your eyes.” He murmured, rubbing Mera’s shoulder as he wrapped one arm around his wife. 

“Just straight black, huh? Nice eye color for a baby.” Mera laughed, cradling her daughter to her chest. 

As she looked up, a bright light grew in her vision, engulfing Mera, Perry, and their as of yet unnamed daughter. 

Mera closed her eyes, shielding her daughter from the light. When it faded away, she was sitting on a bed unlike the one in the MedWing, Perry standing at her side as they had been before being transported. 

They were surrounded by a glowing expanse, like a negative picture of space. Out of this seemingly unending environment of white, a stream of rainbow colored light swirled towards them, on its’ way to Mera’s daughter. 

“Stop! Get away!” Perry yelled, swinging at the light. The seemingly sentient ribbon of light dodged his hands easily, navigating to the newborn babe anyway. 

Mera watched in confused shock as the light absorbed into her baby’s body, disappearing within her daughter. 

“Mera Espa Ranza.” A disembodied voice rang out around them, seemingly from everywhere. “You and your daughter are very important beings. When the time comes your daughter will save us all.”

“Who are you?” Mera asked, Perry looking at her in confusion.

“You will know who we are in time. For now, care for your family. Your daughter is our last hope.” As the voice faded away, so too did the white expanse, leaving the confused family back in the MedWing.

It was as if they had never left at all. All of the doctors and crew members around them resumed their celebrations as if no time had passed at all. 

Mera looked down at the squirming babbling baby in her hands. As her daughter opened her eyes, Mera could see tiny nebulas and galaxies swirling her daughter irises. “Who are you gonna be, Ultima?”


	2. Bleeding Lips, Beating Heart (The Power of Raptor Boners is Stronger)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ultima smooches the egoRaptor.

Ultima’s fist struck the unyielding plastic, her breath rushing out of her lungs. “Again.” She breathed, repositioning herself. 

Arin walked into the makeshift gym Ultima had built in her cabin, following the noise of the punches, aided by the scent of Ultima’s sweat. He walked into the doorframe, leaning against it as he folded his arms. “Having fun?” He asked, distracting Ultima. Her punch missed the mat as she glanced up at Arin. She spun forward, one foot folding over the other as she fell flat on her back, all of the air in her lungs jettisoned out. 

“Ah, fuck.” Ultima groaned, Arin stepping forward, offering his hand to Ultima. She gripped it tightly, using the leverage to stand up. “Thanks for that.”

“Working on your combat skills?” He asked. 

“You could say that.” She sighed, unwrapping the tape wrapped around her knuckles. “I just want to be useful to you guys. A contributing member of the crew, you know?”

“Ultima, you don’t have to prove yourself to any of us.” Arin reassured. 

“Yes, I do. After what happened with Dan, I can’t just be here as a friendly extra body. I can’t see any reason why you guys would want me to be here.” She cracked her knuckles, moving her hands. She rolled her head, stretching her neck as she rubbed the nape of it. Her long black hair french braided into a long knot that stopped at her ankles. The braid swung gently as she moved, the action failing to escape Arin’s attention. 

“Your scar is looking better.” He commented, smiling at her. 

“You think so?” She asked, looking over her shoulder at him. 

He nodded, stepping forward to brush a gloved hand over her shoulder, caressing the fading scars there. “I know so.”

Ultima jolted, turning to look at him. “What is it with your gloves? Can you not take them off?”

Arin swallowed, pulling his hands back. “I shouldn’t.” 

“Why not?” She asked, turning to him. She placed her right hand on his cheek. “Are you scared of hurting me?”

“I can’t risk it. You make me feel so vulnerable, and I haven’t felt like that since I first became like this.” He admitted, placing his hand over hers. “You brought out something in me. For the first time in a long time, I’m scared of hurting someone I-I care about.” He blushed, turning from her. 

“You don’t have to be scared of hurting me. I’m stronger than you seem to think I am.” She squeezed his shoulder, Arin looking back at her.

“Thank you.” He smiled, turning to kiss her gently. 

Spurred by a sudden spark of a spectacular idea, Ultima bit Arin’s lower lip gently, grabbing his jacket with both hands, yanking him to her. 

Arin growled, a deep, hungry sound that originated somewhere between his chest and his throat. His infuriatingly gloved hands gripped Ultima’s upper arms, his leather digits digging into her olive skin. Ultima shivered against his body, melting into his arms. Arin bit down on her lower lip, bringing forth a coppery flood to his mouth as he growled again, suddenly starving for her. 

Arin placed his hand on the nape of Ultima’s neck, holding her close as she pulled away for breath. As Ultima stared at Arin, catching her breath, she realized that she was staring into a pair of dilated eyes, Arin’s excitement clear to her. Her arms hung uselessly at her sides, at the mercy of Arin’s will. 

Right where she wanted to be.


	3. Any Port In A Storm, Though You’re My Shelter From It (All About That Aftercare)

And then nothing of note happened. 

In the face of great temptation, Arin had shown incredible restraint. Ultima, for her part, tried not to rile Arin up too much. 

Which isn’t to say that he hadn’t left her with a few tokens of affection. After hours of intense necking and heavy petting, Ultima had a small cut on her lip to call her own and a few bites decorating her shoulders and neck. 

Arin sat up against the baseboard of Ultima’s bed, Ultima sitting between his legs, her back resting against his chest, leaning against him as she relaxed. Arin’s hands rubbed Ultima’s forearms, kissing the back of her head. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Arin murmured, looking at Ultima. 

She nodded, sighing happily as she shivered. “Yeah, really, I’m okay. It’s no worse than a hickey, honestly.” Ultima smiled, looking back up at him. 

“Just checking up on you. Let me know if you need anything at all.” He leaned down to kiss a particularly deep bite on her neck, hugging her tightly. 

“I’d feel better if you took off your gloves.” She admitted, taking one of his hands. 

“Ultima-”

“Don’t worry.” She murmured, holding his hand in front of her. She gently pulled on each finger of the glove, pulling it off in one gentle motion. Arin’s breath caught in his throat, waiting for the revulsion to rise up in Ultima.

Holding his exposed hand before her, Ultima finally saw a set of clawed digits, two tiny patches on Arin’s hand and wrist covered in pale green scales. Ultima pulled his hand close, pressing a gentle kiss to his palm. 

A single hot tear slipped down his right cheek, Ultima turning to look at him. “Why are you crying?” She asked, brushing the tear away with her thumb. 

Arin opened his eyes, staring into hers. “Don’t worry about me.” He grinned, taking off his other glove. He ran his claws up and down her arms delicately, taking care not to break skin, not yet. “I’m here to take care of you.” He purred into her ear, burying his face in her neck, biting down. “I’m here to give you what you need.”

Ultima whimpered, her head rolling back, planes of her neck exposed to Arin’s machinations. 

Arin bit down on the crook between her neck and shoulder, dragging his claws down the part of Ultima’s back before touching her tanktop. 

Just as they were on the cusp of the throes of passion, there was a knock at the door. 

“Hey, I know you guys are probably busy in there, but we need Arin on the bridge.” Holly’s voice rang through the door. 

Arin sighed, pressing a kiss to the fresh bite mark, dismayed at the interruption. “Another time.” He promised.

“Another time.” Ultima agreed, pecking Arin’s lips before standing up to open the door. “We’ll be down in a sec. Thanks for letting us know, Holly!” Ultima smiled. 

Holly nodded, not at all perplexed by the bite marks on Ultima’s shoulders. “Cool. See you two, whenever.” Holly grinned, creating two finger guns with her hands, shooting them into the room as she chuckled, walking away. 

Ultima shook her head, turning back to Arin. “Well, let’s not keep everyone waiting.”


	4. A Hopeful Transmission

Arin walked with Ultima into the Bridge, straightening up into his full height. “What’s happened?” He asked, sitting in his captain’s chair. 

“We received a transmission from a nearby star system. Because of the distance, the message was...well, you’ll see.” Barry explained over the speakers, the message playing out over the screens on the Bridge. 

After several seconds of static, a woman’s face came into focus for a few seconds, the image cutting in and out over the course of the message. “Please help...my daughter...danger...can pay...as soon as...please hurry.” As the message played, the intermittent sounds of crying could be heard. 

The message ended with a dull buzz, unsettling the Bombers. “So.” Arin cleared his throat. “Were we able to find out where the message was sent from?” He asked to no one in particular.

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” Dan muttered, fiddling around with the controls in front of him for a few seconds. “We managed to track it to a planet called Seritutem, in the same galaxy as Araneae.”

“Don’t we have a contact within the Araneae royal family? Don’t they have a tactical force to in place to help return lost children to their parents?” Arin asked. 

“They would help with this, but Seritutem is outside of their jurisdiction. Something about an old alliance current royalty has with the ruling family on Seritutem, you know, old blood stuff.” Holly explained. 

“Wonderful. So, do they at least know where the child is?” Arin asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“They know she’s still on Seritutem. The problem is, she’s still on the other side of the planet, and, as of now, stranded in the wastelands there.” Ross replied. 

“Alright. Here;s what we’ll do. We’ll go to Seritutem, find who sent the message, I’m assuming the ah, girl’s mother? Right, we find the mother ask her where she last saw her daughter, and we start with any leads we find from there.” 

“Right, sounds good.” Ultima finally chimed in. She wanted to at least sound like she knew what she was doing. 

Barry set a course for the planet of Seritutem, the Bombers getting ready for what they knew could turn into a convoluted mess of a job. 


	5. A Fool's Errand (An Intelligent Crew)

The Bombers touched down on Seritutem four hours later, billowing down onto the barren planet with a strangely ceremonial cloud of dust. 

Arin and crew stepped out of the Starbomb, covering their mouths to avoid a lungful of orange dust. 

“God, this place looks like the Sahara had a baby had with Arizona.” Ultima coughed. 

“What are you talking about?” Kevin asked. 

“I can see what you mean.” Dan replied, nodding at Ultima. 

“I’m guessing that’s our contact.” Arin replied, pointing to a willowy woman standing before a large white tent.

The woman stepped forward, wringing her hands nervously, her white bandage like clothes blowing in the wind. “You-you are Captain Egoraptor?” 

“Yes. My crew received your message, Latesca.” Arin explained, holding his hands behind his back. 

“Come. We can discuss more inside.” She gestured to the tent, the white, dusty fabric wrapped around her arms stretching with the movement. 

Once they were all settled around a large round table, Latesca pulled out a dusty photo of a young girl, sliding it across the table to Arin with a shaking hand. “My daughter, her name is Escara. She’s been trapped on the other side of Seritutem. You see, this planet is plagued by massive dust storms. Travelers are often trapped inside these storms. It’s impossible to make it out without a ship, or some kind of transportation.”  
“How did your daughter get trapped?” Dan asked, sympathy swelling in his chest. 

Latesca sniffed, wiping her face with the fabric on her wrist. “I was there with her just a week ago, but I had to move with my encampment when a dust storm was spotted on the horizon. In the panic, Escara was…” She sniffed again, fresh tears running down her work-tanned cheeks. 

“We understand.” Holly replied nodding across the table to the woman. Ultima reached out to place her hand on Latesca’s shoulder.

“We’ll bring back your daughter, that I can promise you.” She reassured. 

Arin looked over at Ultima, smiling inwardly at the display of sympathy, and he knew then that he had made the right choice in keeping Ultima on the crew. 


	6. Angry Arin, Slightly Upset Road

“Lower, lower!” Holly shouted, holding her hands out to motion down. “Okay, they’re ready. Drop!” A fleet of HoverCycles dropped out of a hidden hangar on the lower decks of the Starbomb. 

Like most ships of its’ class, the Starbomb came equipped with a full vehicle hangar, typically packed in with at least ten standard issue HoverCycles, a kind of all terrain travel not unlike motorcycles, with the added caveat of flight over Earth. 

Luckily enough, being standard issue, Holly had been able to make several modifications to the original HoverCycles. 

“We haven’t used these in a while. Are you certain they will still work?” Arin asked, turning to Holly. 

“I would bet my hands on it.” She replied.

While Holly prepped the HoverCycles, Ultima spoke with Latesca about her daughter. 

“She’s very headstrong. And adaptable, very tough. I want to believe that that will help her until help arrives.” Latesca explained, wringing her hands nervously. 

“What else can you tell me about her?”

“She’s young, but, not so young, I suppose. Over two decades old, she is.”

“And she looks like you, then, tanned, black hair, right?” Ultima asked. 

“Yes, yes.” Latesca sobbed, covering her mouth with her hand. Ultima patted Latesca’s shoulder, offering her a stray napkin she had in her pocket. 

“Hey, it’ll be okay. Everything will be fine.”

“All set!” Arin called out, waving to the crew. 

The seating arrangements were decided: Arin and Ultima would ride on one HoverCycle, then Holly and Ross, and finally, Dan and Kevin. 

As they mounted the fleet of vehicles, Latesca stood off the side, looking just as worried as ever. Arin passed a small communicator to Ultima, Ultima passing it off to Latesca. 

“We’ll contact you as soon as we find Escara.” Arin elaborated as Utlima wrapped her arms around Arin’s waist. 

“Don’t worry Latesca. We’ll get your daughter back to you, dust storms or not.” Ultima assured in a kind tone. 

“Please, hurry.” Latesca urged in a wavering voice. She wrung her hands around the communicator with even greater anxiety. It was then that Ultima noticed something horribly troubling. Underneath the bandage like rags around Latesca’s wrist, were harsh red marks and bruises, like those left behind by heavy shackles, chains, or cuffs. 

The Bombers sped away, leaving the terrified Latesca in a small upkick of dust. Ultima blinked into the dust, turning back to Arin, resting her chin on his shoulder. She would hold onto this. Her hands tensed around his waist, Arin picking up on the nervousness in her heartbeat and body language. 

He turned to her, shouting over the wind roaring by them on the sun burned orange desert. “You alright?”

“I’m fine! Just...focus on the road.” She shouted back, resting her chin on his shoulder. 

Arin swallowed back his worry, looking forward, riding into the burning light, a dark cloud hovering in his mind. 


	7. Dust Storms Have Nothing On Us (An Earth-Shaking Revelation)

One of the dangers of traveling on Seritutem were the random dust storms that always threatened to muffle out travelers across the desert.

The Bombers had been riding for less than an hour, the sun burning overhead. Ultima had been laying her head down on Arin’s shoulder, comforted by the steady sound of his heartbeat. She only lifted her head from his shoulder when she heard the pace quicken, knowing that he had seen something troubling on the horizon. 

“What is it?” She yelled, looking at him. 

“Dust storm! We have to find a-” He called back before a concentrated gust of wind hit the two HoverCycles next to them, Dan, Kevin, Holly and Ross thrown into the dusty chaos, screams lost to the wind. 

“Dan!” Ultima yelled. 

“Kevin!” Arin screamed, quickly losing control of the HoverCycle. Within seconds, Arin and Ultima were also thrown off their cycle, Ultima tossed like a rag doll onto the ground. She rolled for what seemed like hours, finally standing up in the harsh dust storm, blinded by harsh sand. 

“Arin!” She coughed into the dust, holding her hands up around her face, trying to shield herself as she took a few cautious steps forward through the storm. 

She tripped over her dress, falling to her knees, coughing dryly. “Stop!” She got up on one knee, throwing her arms out, as if that would stop the storm. To her shock the sand that had been assaulting her and the Bombers stopped, frozen as if she had hit pause on her environment. 

In the ensuing clarity, she saw Arin struggling to stand up. “Ultima!” Arin yelled, still unaware of what she had done. 

“Arin!” She yelled in response, running across the sand to him. She bent down next to him, grabbing his arm to help him stand up. As he sat up, he looked around himself, blinking in confusion at the halted sand hovering around them. “What-what happened to the storm?”

“I-I stopped it.” She looked down at Arin, helping him stand up. “Come on. Let’s find the others.”

“We’ll discuss this later. Along with what you wanted to tell me earlier.” Arin commanded, the first time Ultima had heard him addressing her in such a demanding tone. She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it yet. 


	8. What Is This, A Saturday Morning Anime

After finding the rest of the Bombers, it was agreed amongst them that it would be best to find a place to rest soon. 

After a few hours of riding across the barren landscape, the Bombers settled down into a small camp on an outcropping of rock, a convenient shield from the elements. 

Ultima leaned against a strangely comfortable cropping of rock, staring into the fire that Dan had helped set up for the camp, the night on Seritutem chilling like a fall afternoon. 

Arin sat beside Ultima, holding two silver cups of steaming food. “Here.” He handed her the small cup of food. 

They ate in silence, Arin wrapping an arm around Ulitma’s shoulders, looking down at her feet as she hugged her knees to her chest. “You said something was bothering you. Want to talk about it?”

The Bombers turned to look at Ultima, eating silently. “What?” Dan asked. 

“When we started heading out, I noticed that Latesca’s wrists had bruises and marks on them. It looked like she’s been shackled, and harshly.”

“Holy shit.” Holly muttered, shaking her head. 

“Looks like there’s more going on here than we knew.” Ross hummed, brushing his chin in thought. 

“Hold on.” Ultima sat up, a memory knocked loose from the dusty gears of her mind. “Oh shit. You know what I just realized? Seritutem, this planet’s name, is terrifyingly close to the latin word servitutem, latin for service.”

“You know latin?” Dan asked. 

“Yeah, doesn’t matter. The point is, we need to figure out everything we can about this planet, and why Latesca would be shackled, and by who.” Ultima rushed out in one breath. 

“Ross, setup a comm line to the Aranaea family-figure out exactly who or what has a hold on Seritutem.” Arin delegated, Ross tapping away at his arm to send out a message to the Araneae royal family. Arin clapped his hands together. “Now that that’s taken care of, we have to discuss the next issue at hand.” He turned to Ultima, smiling to mask his confusion. “How the fuck did you stop a dust storm?”

Ultima blinked, all eyes trained on her. “I just, stopped it. I took a knee like a goddamn anime heroine, threw my arms out,” She threw her arms out.  “And the sand just...stopped.” She sighed, scratching the back of her head. 

Arin had a sudden idea. He grabbed a handful of sand, and threw it into Ultima’s face. 

“What-” She threw her arms up in front of her face, the sand stopping in a dusty cloud that hovered in front of her face, unmoving. When she opened her eyes to look at Arin, Ultima stared in shock as  the sand floated before her before it fell to the ground. 

“That settles it. On some level, Ultima, you can control sand.” Arin concluded. 

“Sand? For some reason, I feel like that can’t be it…” Ultima began, interrupted by a loud humming coming from her pocket. She looked down to see a strong red glow coming from the same pocket as the humming. 


	9. Here Today, Gone Today

Ultima reached into her pocket, pulling out the vexing black cube that had troubled her more than any cube ever had, with the exception of a Rubiks’ cube. 

She turned the small black thing over in her hands, trying to ascertain why it was glowing red and humming. As if in response, the red crystal in her skin pulsed red, a thin line of light coming out of it to lead to the small black hard drive (?) in Ultima’s pocket. “Is this supposed to…” Ultima tapped the hard drive to the gem on her throat, the tip of the hard drive now glowing like a lit cigarette. 

She dragged the red hard drive to the cube. As it hovered over the smooth black surface, the light from the drive revealed a thin red line on the cube’s surface. Ultima turned it in her hands, trying to find some sort of keyhole. 

During this entire procedure, the Bombers had been waiting with bated breath, watching what would happen. 

After turning the cube over, the light revealed a small red dot, the perfect fit for the drive in her hand. She slid it in like a key, the drive melting into nothingness, disappearing from existence as the box opened, a flurry of red light shooting out and engulfing Ultima’s head. She screamed in surprise, Arin lunging forward to help her. The light swallowed Ultima entirely, a whirlwind of red light retreating into the closed box. As the last of the light disappeared into the onyx like box, it snapped shut, shaking with a strong red light before going still. 

The Bombers watched on as Arin screamed in anguished rage, holding the box in his hands. “No! It’s too soon!”

“Arin, she might not be gone.” Dan tried to reason, unable to hide the quake in his voice. 

“She’s not here!” He screamed, burying his head in his hands. For the first time in what seemed like months, the Bombers were faced with the sight of their captain in tears, his defenses completely down, vulnerable to the core. 

But none of them would have been able to comprehend what had happened to Ultima when she was dragged into the black cube. 


	10. Old As Dirt (As Easy as Breathing)

When the light engulfed her, Ultima had been transported into the cube. 

Although, it would have been more accurate to say that she had been taken into another dimension, a new plane of existence for her.

As the light faded away, Ultima opened her eyes to see that she was now standing on a flat black surface, like the cube that she had been dragged into. The sky (?) above her was black as well, filled with an inky blackness to rival the night sky.

Ultima bent down to run her hands across the floor, trying to discern a meaning to her new environment. Once her fingers made contact with the floor, it lit up a blinding shade of white, startling her to the point of sutmbling back.

“I was wondering when you would arrive.” Red’s voice rang out from behind Ultima. She turned around to see the glowing, red form of the Red Goddess of Creation standing behind her. “But, now that you are here, I am glad for it.”

“What is this place? And, why am I here?” She asked, standing up to face Red.

“It is difficult to say exactly where you and I are now. Think of it as a pocket space-a corner of the universe.” Red attempted to explain.

“So a space between spaces. Alright. I guess I’m here because of the dust storm?”

“Yes. When you saved your companions from that dust storm, you accessed the first of your many powers.  
  


“One power of many?”

“Yes. Allow me to elaborate. In your time on Earth, did you ever hear about something called Chakras?”

Ultima racked her brain for the memories. “Yeah. Points of energy along the human body, right?”

“In a sense, yes. The gems you have to collect also work as points of energy along your body, and they are associated with separate elements, something that human beings were able to pick up, and with great accuracy.”  
“And red, your gem is associated with sand?”

“Close, earth. Soil, dirt, sand. All of these, you can now control.” Red gestured again, a swirling pile of sand appearing in her hands. “Try it.”

Ultima held her hands out as Red dropped hers. Ultima held the sand in her hands. She furrowed her brow in concentration, maintaining a spherical shape. Ultima got curious, and twisted her hands again, the sand morphing into a variety of shapes, Ultima cycling through whatever she could think of. Her mind raced, unaware of the growing concern on Red’s face.

“Ultima.” Red placed her hand on Ultima’s shoulder, the sand disappearing.

“What?” Ultima looked up, confused.

“Be careful. Your powers are great, but they are like muscles. The more you push them, test yourself, the stronger they will become. Be careful with the powers you have, and practice moving the earth to your will. The power is in your hands now.” The Red Goddess of Creation began fading away, the lit floor under Ultima’s feet darkening as she felt herself being pulled back into reality and out of the cube.


	11. The Art Of Being In Love Of Someone You Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan is just a soft boy in love with a women possessed by cosmic entities.

Arin was still sobbing as he held the cube, the Bombers consoling him, when the cube snapped open, glowing brightly with a strong red light. 

All at once, the brightness exploded, and Arin yelped as he fell back, a weight crushing into his lap out of nowhere. When the light faded away, Arin looked down to see Ultima curled up on his chest, clutching the black cube in her hands.

“Ultima.” Arin gasped, sitting up to hug Ultima tightly, kissing her hair. She blinked awake, looking up at Arin.

“Hey.” She smiled, laughing as Arin squeezed her tightly.

“Don’t ever leave like that again.” He whispered, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

“I won’t. I promise.” Ultima sighed, patting his head.

Once the pleasantries were in order, it was universally agreed that it would be best to go to sleep for the night. The Bombers carried with them small tents, enough to shield from the elements and to sleep comfortably.

The tent assignments were the same as the Hovercycle assignments; that is, all the couples were paired up, Dan and Kevin sharing an awkward tent.

Once she was sure he was asleep, Ultima turned towards Arin, trying to see if he was fully asleep.

She placed her hand on his shoulder, shaking it gently. Arin merely rolled his shoulder, barely roused. Ultima merely nodded, picking up the black cube and leaving the tent.

Ultima walked away from the campsite, trying to find a clearing. Once she found a small, crater like formation of sand, she set the cube down, taking off her cape. She stepped forward, standing in the center of the clearing, sand still in the nonexistent evening wind.

Ultima closed her eyes, breathing in. Then she opened her eyes, lifting her hand, palm facing the sky. A clump of sand floated above her palms, awaiting her command. Ultima did the same with her other hand, now controlling two swirling orbs of sand.

She stared at herself in awe, lunging forward to throw her hands out. The sand around and behind her flew forward in a huge wave, scattering in a concentrated wave. Ultima stepped back, staring at her arms.

Ultima threw her arm up above herself, a huge plume of sand to her right reaching up into the sky. She lowered her arm, the sand falling back to the ground with an upkick of dust.

“Woah.” Ultima breathed. She clenched her fingers, staring at her hands.

Ultima proceeded to use her powers in bigger and grander way, making the desert around her bend to her will.

Back in the camp, one of the Bombers had awoken. Dan jolted awake from his nightmare in a cold sweat.

The contents of his dreams had never really troubled him before. Sure, he had horrible nightmares when he slept on his back. Terrible, terrifying nightmares. But he’d always been able to sleep on his side or on his stomach. But with the cursed gem on his stomach, Dan had been unable to sleep on his stomach. The gem even caused him mild discomfort when he slept on his side, leaving Dan to sleep on his stomach, and to continue suffering from hyper-realistic nightmares.

They mostly consisted of the red figure that originally possessed his body consuming him, Dan’s form being swallowed up by red light, turning him into nothing until his very existence disappeared. His dreams more often featured the other Bombers, particularly Ultima and less often, Arin. When Ultima featured in his dreams, she never got out unscathed. Those were the hard nights to get through.

Dan stepped out of the tent, hugging himself as he took a short walk around the camp. His eyes scanned the horizon, stopping when he saw a plume of sand shoot into the sky. Dan walked towards where the sand had shot up, walking over a hill of sand to see it.

Dan was met with the sight of Ultima standing in a clearing, throwing her arms out around herself, sand moving in relation to her movements. Dan stood, watching Ultima in utter awe, something in his heart awakening completely from its’ semi-coma, a part that had been resuscitated when he first saw Ultima.

Lost in his warming emotions, Dan was harshly broken out of his rosy happiness when he noticed something was terribly wrong. .

Ultima’s face was bleeding.


	12. The One Who Remained, Found (Enough Love In Her Heart For Two People)

Dan ran forward, cut off by a large burst of sand shooting up like it had exploded. “Ultima!” He cried out, holding his hands up in front of his face.

The sand stopped, Ultima staring at Dan as the dust settled. “Dan? What, what are you-” Ultima stopped, holding her head as a dull pain throbbed through it.

“Ultima, your face is bleeding. Can’t you tell?” He asked, slowly approaching her.

Ultima touched her hand to her face, looking at her red stained fingers in terror. “No, Oh shit, oh god.” She started panicking, hands shaking as she fell to her knees, looking down at her blood stained clothes. “What, happened to me?” She whispered fervently.

Dan kneeled down in front of her, gently grabbing her arms. “Ultima, Ultima. You’re gonna be okay, I promise. Can you walk? Can you walk back to camp, Ultima?”

“Yeah-yeah, I can.” She nodded, slowly getting up to her feet. Dan held onto her arms for support, letting her lean her weight on his tall frame.

They made their way back to camp, Dan helping Ultima sit just on the outskirts of their camp, not wanting to wake any of the other Bombers. “Wait here, okay? I’ll get something to clean your wounds.” Dan asked of Ultima. Without a second thought, he took off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. “I’ll be right back.” He reassured, running back to the HoverCycles.

The HoverCycles came equipped with an emergency first aid kit, should just such an occasion arrive. Dan grabbed the small red box, grabbing a fire starting kit as well, jogging back to where Ultima was still sitting in his jacket.

Dan placed the small firestarter on the ground, the timer beeping quietly until it started emitting a soft orange like light, imitating that of fire. Utlima stared into the light, hugging her knees to her chest.

Dan carefully removed his jacket from Ultima’s shoulders, setting it to the side. He took out the small towel from the first aid kit, dampening it with a light disinfectant. He scooted closer to Ultima, towel in hand.

She turned towards him, nodding. “Go ahead.” She sighed.

Dan swallowed nervously, wiping the rapidly drying blood off of Utlima’s face. As the crimson stain made contact with the towel, it dissipated Ultima’s blood being cleaned completely away.

Ultima wanted to ask how a disinfectant could completely dissolve blood, but as Dan’s fingers lingered on the skin of her cheek, she thought it would be better not to break the gentle silence between them.

She closed her eyes, focusing only on the hum of the artificial fire, and the feeling of Dan’s care in the form of cleaning blood off her tanned skin. When he pulled away, Ultima opened her eyes to look at him, only to realize that she was staring into his dark brown irises.

He blushed despite himself, turning away to remoisten the towel with disinfectant. Ultima closed her eyes again, at ease with the way her night was turning out.

But she didn’t expect it when Dan started cleaning the blood off her neck. The cold towel coupled with the warmth in Dan’s fingers startled her, and her hand shot up as if it was going to grab Dan’s hand.

Dan, scared that he’d hurt her, immediately backed away. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She opened her eyes, biting her lip. Despite Dan having backed off, they were still somewhat close, their faces just barely out of kissing distance. “I didn’t ask you to stop.” She smiled, trying to break the tension.

Dan laughed despite himself, shaking his head. “Right, okay, cool.” He sighed, leaning forward to clean her neck. When his fingers made contact with Ultima’s skin again, the red crystal at the base of her throat sparked gently, a weak red light emanating from it.

Neither seemed to notice this, as Dan wiped away the last of the gore from Utlima’s neck. As he pulled away, Ultima took his hand, prompting Dan to look up at her. “Ultima?”

“Dan, thank you, so much for helping me out, really, I just…I’m happy to have met you.” She smiled into Dan’s face.

Dan blinked, staring at Ultima. It had never struck him fully before tonight, but he could now see the full depth of Ultima’s beauty, both inwardly and outwardly, though the latter was secondary to the former.

“What is it?” She asked, trying to decipher the conflicted emotions dancing across Dan’s visage.

Dan licked his lips, eyes darting from her eyes to her lips. “I just…I. I don’t know what I’m feeling, right now.”

“Then just say it. It’ll help you understand it if you explain it to me.”

“I-I don’t know how to voice it. There aren’t, words for it. At least I can’t think of any.”

“How else could you explain it?” She asked.

Dan threaded his fingers in her hair, his hands holding her face gently. “Like this.” He breathed against her lips.

Then Dan pressed his lips against hers, Ultima kissing him gently in return, as her gem began to glow.


	13. Palest Pink To Deepest Burgundy (Multiple Loves)

Ultima pulled away, staring at Dan with something between infatuation and confusion. “Oh god.” She muttered, shaking her head.

“What is it?” Dan asked, holding her upper arms gently. His thumbs rubbed her skin, trying to calm her.

“Did I just… I just cheated on Arin with you!” She looked up at him, not notcing the iridescent gem on her neck. Dan shook his head, laughing softly. “Why is this not freaking you out?”

“Let me explain. I know it might be weird to get used to, but the ‘rules’ of relationships have changed a lot in the years since you’ve checked out.”  
“How? Adultery is okay with people now?”

“No, but polyamory is way more common now.”

“So, what does that mean for me? For Arin and I?”

“Well, Arin won’t care that you kissed me. He might even be happy for you, honestly.” Dan chuckled.

“So, that’s it?” She asked. “What is this?”

“You and me? It doesn’t have to go anywhere, if you don’t want it to.” He shrugged, pulling his arms away.

“Alright, alright.” She sighed, shaking her head. As she looked down at herself, she noticed a red glow coming from her gem, vastly changed from the glow it had been emitting previously. “Woah.” She breathed, looking at it.

“What?” Dan asked, looking at her gem again. “Is it…different?”

“Yeah, it’s like I’m wearing the whole spectrum of the color red in the gem. It’s only ever been dark red.” She paused, thinking of something. “Wait. I-oh shit that makes sense.”

“What makes sense?”

“Arin told me that when the Red Goddess came out of me, she said that, Arin was already in my heart, and that…one other remained.”

“You think…”

“Dan, I think she was talking about you. I’m supposed to fall in love with two people. And now…” She blinked, staring into his brown eyes. “I know who they are.” 


	14. Arin + Ultima + Dan = Partial Eclipse(s) Of The Heart

Dan and Ultima decided that this life changing revelation could wait until tomorrow. 

Dan returned to his tent, giving Ultima one last good night kiss on her forehead. Ultima crawled into the tent she shared with Arin.

As she lay on her side, Ultima watched Arin’s sleeping face, trying to decipher the dreams in his head. She cuddled up to him, wrapping her arms around his chest. Her head came to rest on his chest, her hair tickling his chin.

Arin purred briefly, automatically wrapping Ultima in his arms, crushing her to his chest. His tail wrapped around her waist, curling her body close. She looked up at him, sighing heavily, unsure of what tomorrow would bring.

The Bombers woke up to a blisteringly hot desert-sun bearing down like a disapproving parent.

Arin yawned loudly, rubbing his face. Much like a tired cat, his yawns went from cute to terrifying thanks to the addition of his fangs. Ultima laughed softly, looking up at him.

“What?” He mumbled, blinking down at her with a sleepy smile.

“It’s just…I’ve never met anyone like you.” She admitted, kissing him awake.

“Fair point.” He smiled.

Later that morning, the Bombers got the HoverCycles ready to head out within the hour. During the waiting period, Dan approached Ultima, Arin otherwise occupied with prepping the HoverCycles.

“How are you?” Dan asked, folding his arms and looking down at Ultima as she stared into the middle distance.

“I’m good. Everything seems to be going alright, considering.”

“That’s good. Have you told Arin?”

“About last night?” Ultima sighed, running her fingers through her hair nervously. “No.”

“You’ve got time. But that’s your decision. I won’t talk to him about it until you do.”

Ultima crossed her arms, looking up at him.

“What?” Dan asked.

“That’s very considerate of you.” Ultima remarked, smiling dryly.

“Well, it’s important to be a considerate lover. It’s something I pride myself on.”

“Come on, man!” She gently punched his arm. “We’re not lovers.”

“Yet.” He promised, grinning at Ultima.

She blushed, turning from him as Arin approached.

“Hey. Ready to go?” Arin asked, extending his hand out to Ultima.

Ultima and Arin climbed back onto their HoverCycle, Utlima wrapping her arms around Arin’s waist, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“Arin?” She asked, Arin starting up the HoverCycle.

“Yeah?” He replied, revving up the cycle.

“Dan and I kissed last night!” Ultima yelled, the HoverCycle speeding them off into the Seritutem desert.

“You did?” Arin yelled back over the wind, grinning despite himself.

“Yeah!” Arin began laughing into the sky. “That doesn’t bother you?”

“Nah! I’m happy for you two!”

“Arin, I don’t want to stop seeing you?”

“You wanna go for a polyamorous thing?” He asked.

“I-I guess! But I want to make a more informed decision. I wanna spend more time with Dan before deciding on anything like that.”

“Fair enough.” Arin affirmed. “Take your time, Ultima. I’ll support whatever decision you take.”

Ultima smiled, kissing the nape of his neck, staring into the horizon of the desert.

Neither she nor Arin could know what awaited them there in the desert. 


	15. We Can't Leave Now! This Is [REDACTED] Country!

After an hour of riding through the Seritutem wastes, Ultima spotted a glimmer on the horizon. “Do you see that?” She asked Arin, pointing at the now rapidly growing structure.  
“Yeah! We’ll stop to check it out!”  
Arin directed the Bombers to park the HoverCycles outside of the strange stone structure. On closer inspection, the structure was constructed of four large pillars, worn down from years of exposure to the wind. At the center of the four pillars was a flat stone slab, jutting out of the sand like the outdoor entrance to a storm cellar.   
“A large stone slab covering the entrance to an underground cave?” Arin asked, turning to Ultima.  
“I’ll see what I can do.” Ultima smiled weakly, approaching the stone slab. She planted her feet, slowly lifting her arms up. The sound of rock moving against rock echoed around the Bombers. As they looked on, Ultima’s forehead began beading sweat from the effort of lifting the slab.   
With one last effort, Ultima threw her arms straight up into the sky, the stone slab flying off into a nearby sand bank. Ultima fell forward onto her knees, breathing shallowly and quickly, her chest heaving with the effort.   
Arin ran to Ultima’s side, helping her up. Ultima’s head rolled to the side as she tried to hold onto consciousness. She mumbled incoherently, her nose bleeding thin trail of blood from her left nostril. “Sorry, sorry, I messed up…I-sorry.” She mumbled, leaning into Arin’s arms.   
“Ultima, it’s okay. Come on, let’s get you some water.” He reassured, letting her sit up against him.   
Dan handed Arin his small canteen of water. As Ultima weakly sipped at water, Holly, Kevin and Ross went on ahead to investigate the ruins.   
“Arin!” Kevin ran up to the Arin, holding something in his hands.   
“What is it?” Arin asked, letting Dan hold Ultima as he stood.   
“Holly found these just inside the cave.” Kevin opened his palm to show Arin a small pile of iridescent blue snake-like scales. The blue scales shined in the sunshine like a with a greenish tinge. “What do you make of them?” Kevin asked.  
Arin’s face had grown more and more somber as he stared at the scales. “We need to leave.” He ordered, turning to Ultima, picking her up.   
“What about the child we’re supposed to find?” Holly asked, running up to the other Bombers.   
“Those scales only mean one thing.” Arin turned back to the Bombers. “This is dragon territory. Anyone lost out here-”  
Arin was interrupted as the sand beneath their feet seemed to tremble as a mighty roar sounded off from within the ruins Ultima had opened.   
“-is as good as dead.”


	16. I'm (Not) A Damsel. I'm In Distress. I (Don't) Got This.

The Bombers didn’t even have time to get to their HoverCycles when the dragon emerged from the ruins they’d opened.

In a flurry of green-blue scales and sand, the dragon seemed to explode out and into the sky, circling the Bombers before landing, throwing sand up into the air before it settled.

The dragon had no large wings, rather, it had a serious of small flaps along its’ back, all of which ruffled as the mighty creature surveyed the Bombers. It was not a particularly tall creature, but what it lacked in height, it more than made up for in length of its scaly body alone.

No one moved as they awaited the dragon’s next move. Ultima slowly came to, looking up at Dan, not having left his arms. “What’s-”

Dan looked down at her, shaking his head, urging her desperately not to speak. But even this movement could not hope to escape the dragon’s quick eye.

Faster than even light itself, the dragon darted forward. Dan tried to shield Ultima from the dragon, but it was like a black curtain had been pulled over his eyes. In an instant, Ultima was no longer in Dan’s arms. Staring in abject horror, Dan watched as the dragon clutched Ultima in it’s clutches.

“No!” Arin and Dan both screamed, though Arin screeched. Without a second thought, Arin withdrew the LaserPistol from his holster, firing it at the dragon.

The beast roared as the light hit his scales, singing them for mere seconds before the dragon darted forward again.

Arin ran towards the dragon, hoping to leap onto its’ back in order to down it more easily. He fell a few feet short, and looked on in terror as Dan was snatched up by the beast.

The dragon now held two Bombers in it’s claws. It looked back at the last few assembled, glaring at them with the fire of the Seritutem desert.

Arin looked over at Holly, Kevin, and Ross, nodding urgently. The Bombers left understood, and made a mad dash for the HoverCycles.

Ross grabbed Holly’s hand, making a beeline for the nearby vehicle. Ross had barely grabbed the controls when a violent flurry of scales and sand moved over him as well. When he looked again, Holly was snatched away, her cries for help now joining Ultima’s and Dan’s as the three of them were stolen away into the ruins, the dragons’ roar echoing into the air

Arin fell to his knees, shaking in anger.

“Arin?” Kevin asked, slowly approaching Arin.

The once-proud commanders’ shoulders, usually thrown back in a position of authority, were now trembling. Arin held his face in his hands, his body shaking with what could only be described as crushing, unbearable loss. 


	17. Two Parts Gorgeous Dreamland, One Part Nightmare I Can't Wake Up From

As Arin struggled and failed to maintain his composure in the face of so many friends lost, those same friends were being whisked away below the Earth.

In the clutches of the dragon, Ultima was now fully awake. She stared in abject horror as she was carried through the caverns, strange light flying by her. Though she couldn’t quite make it out, she knew that the lights varied between several shades of green and blue.

Ultima looked back at Dan and Holly, trapped in their respective clutches. Any trace of wonder was blasted away when she saw the look on Dan’s face.

“Dan!” She shouted, reaching out to him.

Dan opened his eyes, face lit by blue and green light as they were taken down further and further into the cave. In the light, Ultima could see that he had been crying openly, tears streaming down his face in blind panic.

“Guys!” Holly yelled, frantically trying to get their attention.

Dan and Ultima turned around to see that the dragon was now flying rapidly towards an approaching wall of fire.

The three struggled fruitlessly in the dragon’s claws, desperately trying to avoid being burned alive. Despite their best efforts, the three were taken through the wall of flame. The minute they passed through the wall of fire, the blanket of sleep overcame Ultima, Dan and Holly also plunging into the realm of sleep.


	18. I'm (Really Not) Good At Stealth Games

Hours later, Ultima woke up. 

She tried to get her bearings, feeling the ground next to her. When she touched the rock nearby, she sat up. When her eyes adjusted to the green light, she could finally see that she had woken up in a circular room. Lanterns were hung up around the walls of the room, filling the room with a range of green and blue light.

Ultima had been laying down on a flat tablet made of stone. Though she might have been laying down on the rock for hours, she felt no discomfort, thanks to the strange moss that coated the rock.

Ultima hopped off the rock, trying to absorb more of her surroundings. The room was mostly nondescript, with the lanterns and torches providing some light. Ultima lost her footing when she stepped on a ledge that had failed to capture her attention. Looking down, Ultima finally saw a pool of water in the center of the room. She knelt down, reaching her hand out to trace it over the water, amazed at seeing a pool of it in the desert.

When her fingers made contact with the water, the pool was suddenly illuminated with a blue green light, the lanterns around her glowing brighter as well.

As the pool lit up, Ultima saw that the water was not contained-it led out to a different room entirely. Ultima followed the water out, sneaking around the edge of the water.

Utlima’s blood froze in her veins when she entered the room. Sleeping peacefully, but no less terrifying, was the dragon that had kidnapped her and her friends.

She pressed herself up against the wall, heart hammering in her chest. Ultima quickly whipped her head from left to right. On each side of the wall besides her were two doors, likely those that contained Holly and Dan, and, in the best case scenario, Escara.

Ultima looked back at the slumbering dragon, trying to steel her courage. She looked at the entrance to the room on her right, and slowly began inching towards it, all the time acutely aware of the overwhelming possibility of fiery death.


	19. More Of A BAMF Than You Think (A Furious Vexation)

“You’re not the only one who lost someone special, Arin! My wife was taken too!” Ross shouted at Arin, aggravated at Arin’s overarching displays of emotion.

“Don’t blame me for being upset!” Arin roared, his voice rising as he balled his hands up into fists.

Sensing a bloody argument coming on, Kevin stepped forward, holding his arms out to keep the two men apart. “Stop it, both of you! We need to come up with a plan, and we won’t get anywhere if you’re both screaming at each other.”

Arin visibly calmed, Ross looking down at his feet as he folded his arms.

“Firstly, we’ll need reinforcements.” Arin began, looking up at Kevin and Ross.

“I’ve tried calling up Barry on the ship already, but he’s not responding.” Ross replied.

“What?” Arin asked, pulling out a Communicator from his belt,  clicking it on. “Barry? Barry come in, we need immediate reinforcements, three Bombers down!” Arin urged through the comm.

The screen blinked a new message into existence: NO SIGNAL FOUND.

Arin growled for a moment, clipping the Communicator back onto his belt. “So what do you suggest we do?” Arin turned to Kevin.

“I say we go into the cave-ruins, whatever, after the others.” Kevin suggested with confidence.

“If we do that, there’s no guarantee that we’ll come out alive.” Ross muttered.

“I’m willing to risk life and limb to get our crewmembers back. You both know that-I’ve done it before.” Arin reasoned.

“But you’ve never had this much at stake!” Ross reminded Arin. “You love Ultima, and Dan is one of your best friends.”

“I know.”

“And Ultima loves both of you. And I think you love her too, Arin-”

“Guys?” Kevin interrupted, pointing into the horizon. “Do you see that?”

Ross and Arin looked, nerves on edge when they saw what Kevin had noticed.

In the heated horizon, was a rapidly encroaching line of-something. Whatever it was, it was moving fast, and it was now firing lasers at them.

The Bombers that remained above ground ducked for cover as laser fire rained down around them.

“We have to find cover!” Arin shouted.

“No shit! But where do you see a place to hide!” Ross screamed back, just barely dodging a laser that scorched the sand where he’d been standing.

Kevin, still laying on the ground, looked up, and scrambled to his feet, making a mad dash for the HoverCycles. He hopped on, revving it to life.

“What the hell-” Arin yelled, screeching when a laser nearly burned his tail.

“Get inside the ruins! I’ll distract them!” Kevin yelled, now riding in circles around the entrance to the ruin, creating a large cloud of sand, mimicking a small dust storm.

Arin and Ross took their chance, sprinting into the ruin entrance, waiting inside the entrance for Kevin.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Kevin rode past the entrance to the ruin, launching himself off the HoverCycle, his momentum knocking Arin and Ross over as he landed on them.

“Holy shit, Kevin.” Ross laughed.

“Is everyone okay?” Kevin asked, unaware of his own badassery.

The three of them were silenced when they heard the click of a gun being cocked behind them, and a young woman’s voice ordering and threatening them: “Don’t move a fucking muscle or I will paint this cave with your blood.”


	20. Try Not To Develop Fuzzy Feelings Too Quick, Now

Ultima finally made it to the door to her right, scrambling into the chamber identical to the one she had awoken in.

Dan was laying down on a stone table, similar to the one she was laying on. She stepped around the pool on the floor to get to him, grabbing his shoulder. “Dan, Dan wake up!” She whispered urgently, shaking him gently.

Dan slowly came to, opening his eyes to look up at her. “Ultima?” He asked, sitting up. “Where-” He asked, looking around.

“In the ruins. The dragon is right outside, and it’s sleeping right now, but, we have to hurry and find Holly. If Escara is down here, we should find her too.” Ultima explained.

Once they were out of the small chamber, Ultima and Dan inched along the wall to make it to the next door, Dan’s eyes widened in fear.

Dan and Ultima entered the room to the left of Ultima’s, finding an unconscious Holly on a bed of moss.

After waking her up, the three tried to find an exit, walking across the stone floor to explore quietly.

Dan walked behind Ultima, Holly trailing back to keep an eye on the dragon.

Ultime turned to him, biting her lip. “Try to step carefully. A lot of the rock around here is wet for whatever reason.”

Dan nodded, stepping forward. He placed his foot on the edge of the pool, weight shifting out of balance. With a shout of surprise, Dan slipped into the water, splashing around to sit up.

Ultima reached out to him, freezing when she saw the dragon blink one eye open. It raised its’ head, looking at Dan, judging him. Dan made some kind of noise in the back of his throat, not daring to move.

The dragon turned from the three, rooting around in another room with his snout. He pulled back and turned to Dan, holding a towel in its’ mouth. The dragon carefully placed the towel over Dan’s shoulders, backing up to seat himself back on his previous perch.

Dan looked at the towel around his shoulders, standing up as Ultima took his arm. “Thank you.” He told the dragon.

The dragon nodded, resting his head back on his forearms, closing his eyes.

“You know, as far as kidnappers go, a friendly dragon isn’t the worst option.” Dan admitted.

“It’s too early for the stockholm syndrome to set in, Dan.” Holly stated, shaking her head.


	21. An Unhappy Reunion (The Threat Above, The Truth Below)

Once Dan finished drying off, the trio of friends heard voices coming from a far off section of the cave.

Though they were difficult to decipher at first, Ultima knew what they were at a subconscious level-her red gem began glowing. “Oh god! It’s Arin!” Ultima exclaimed, standing up. “Arin!” She shouted, her voice echoing off into the cave.

As he was being led down the hallway by the gun toting girl, Arin’s nose twitched when he picked up the faintest trace of Ultima’s scent in the cave. Then, her voice, and Arin lost his composure. “Ultima!” He yelled, frantically running forward to look for Ultima.

The gun holder’s fist struck out to crack Arin swiftly across the jaw, sending him staggering against the cave wall. “Stop! I can and will use force to restrain you until I can properly question you.” The girl glared, opening the doors to where the dragon slept, and the chamber in which Ultima, Dan and Holly were in now.

“Arin!” Ultima ran forward, helping him up off the ground where he’d slouched down from the punch. “Come on, I’m here! What happened to you?”

The gun holding girl blinked in confusion. “Wait, you know this intruder?” She asked incredulously.

“Yes! Who are you?” Ultima glared at the armed girl, helping Arin stand up.

“Well, since it would seem that you’re all friends here, it might be wise to introduce myself. Escara, self-appointed guardian of the last water dragon of Seritutem. Now,” Escara waved her gun at the assembled beings. “What are all of you doing out here, so far from the camps?”

“Escara, wasn’t that the name of the girl we were supposed to rescue?” Ross asked, turning to Arin.

“Yeah, but…” Arin took out the picture of Escara, holding it up to compare it to the Escara standing before him. “This is a picture of a child, not older than eight.”

“Let me see that.” Escara took the photo out of Arin’s hand, the blood draining from her face as she stared at the picture in disbelief. “No, it can’t be…”

She held the picture up to the light, gasping in shock. When the light shined through the paper, thin lines could be seen in the paper, flat circuits running through the paper. Escara ripped the picture up, tossing the pieces into a nearby torch.

She turned her gun on Arin. “Who sent you? Where did you get that photo?”

Arin pushed Ultima behind him. “Your mother, Latesca gave it to us! She sent us to find you!”

Escara narrowed her eyes, and turned to the slumbering dragon. “Well? Is he lying?”

The dragon turned to her, and looked at Arin. It squinted at Arin, but shook his head.

“You’ve been had, sir.” She told Arin, re-holstering her gun. “That picture was a tracker, a highly sophisticated one. From the sound of it, my mother was put up to this.”

Arin didn’t get a chance to ask. The ceiling above them trembled, the water in the pools of the cave shaking in gentle ripples. The dragon raised his head, and looked up, growling angrily.

“What is that?” Holly asked, taking Ross’s hand.

“The man who set this whole thing up, the most powerful man on Seritutem-Sicario Immortio. And now we’ve all walked into his trap.” Escara pulled out her gun, cocking it with grim determination, and it became clear to all the Bombers what they saw in her face.

She was ready to die fighting that day.


	22. A Not-So-Calm Before The Storm

“What is the plan?” Ultima asked Escara.

“We fight to the death defending this temple. And him.” She pointed to the dragon.

“Escara, I will not let my crew die defending your temple. But I will get you off this planet, and back to your mother.” Arin tried to reason.

Escara glared at him, blinking tears out of her eyes. “You have no idea of what’s at stake here. You don’t understand the first thing about Seritutem! None of you do!”

Just as he was going to reply, the ceiling above them shook again, the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching them. The same panicked expression fell over Escara’s face again. “It’s too late.” She muttered, holding the gun in shaking hands.

The Bombers and Escara turned to the only entrance to the chamber they were in, the dragon growling angrily as Escara backed up against him.

A procession of fierce looking soldiers led by a man with blindingly white hair strood into the room. The man in white hair carried himself like a king, holding his head high as he looked around the room at those assembled. When his eyes fell on Escara, he grinned, folding his arms.

“And so, the prodigal daughter is found.” The white haired man stated. He nodded to Escara. “Escara.”

“Sicario.” Escara growled, spitting at the ground.

Sicario chuckled, shaking his head. He lifted his hand, gesturing for his guards to bring someone forward.

Two guards at the back brought forth a struggling figure in their arms. The silence was unsettling, and the Bombers finally saw why.

Latesca’s hands were chained together, a heavy looking metal clasp closed around her mouth, silencing her. The guards harshly dropped her to the ground, Latesca crumpling into a small heap on the ground.

Escara swallowed thickly. “Mother.” She whispered, stumbling forward.

The guards walked forward to grab Escara, the Bombers reached for their weapons, Ultima curled her hands into fists, ready to fight her way out. The dragon’s growls reached a terrifying climax.  

Then everything went insane. 


	23. Out Of The Wildfire, Into The Hurricane

The dragon darted out from behind the group, its’ slender body encircling the Bombers and Escara. 

It reared its’ head up to glare at Sicario and his men, roaring menacingly.

“Fire at will!” Sicario commanded. His men raised their weapons, Escara struggling to climb over the dragon to get at the men.

“No! You have no idea what you’re-” A laser bullet whizzed past Escara’s shoulder, singing the flyaway hair that had been hanging off her head. She fell back into the throng of the Bombers, dazed by the proximity of the laser blast.

The dragon roared in rage, turning to Sicario, his laser gun still cooling down. The dragon lunged forward, his neck extended out to snap up Sicario in his jaws. With a flash of his hand, Sicario lifted a long dagger from his belt, plunging it under the dragons’ jaw.

The dragon stopped, eyes wide as it turned back to look at Escara. Escara ran forward, trying to comfort the dragon as it died. “No, no, I can’t lose this too.” Escara sniffed. Sicario strode to her, harshly grabbing her arm, pulling her away from the dragon.

The Bombers pulled out their weapons, aiming them at Sicario. In that same instance, Sicario’s men surrounded the Bombers, weapons drawn.

“Now, for your help in so kindly returning my lost possession, you can all leave with your lives.” Sicario gestured to the Bombers.

“And Latesca?” Arin asked, looking at the still kneeling woman.

Sicario paused, looking at Latesca in disdain, much in the same way that one would looked at a squashed bug. “Kill the mother. She’s of no more use to me.” He stated dismissively, kicking Latesca in the side. Sicarios’ men advanced, weapons drawn, aimed at Latesca’s head.

“No!” Ultima ran ahead, placing herself between Latesca and the guards. “Please, don’t kill this woman.”

Sicario’s eyes widened, staring at Ultima. His eyes quickly glanced up and down Ultima’s body, surveying her. “What else could I do with her?”

“We’ll take her with us. Out of sight, out of mind.” Ultima assured, staring Sicario down. As she did so, she suddenly took note of the arousal in Sicarios’ eyes, chilling her to the core as a terrible realization dawned on her.

“Very well.” He replied, turning quickly. As soon as they came, Sicario and his men left, leaving the Bombers in the cave with a rapidly dying dragon, their actions weighing heavily on their shoulders. 


	24. Strange Company To Let Go

The Bombers regrouped, Holly tending to Latesca’s wounds as Ross and Arin made contact with Barry on the Starbomb.

Dan stood separated from the group, staring at the dead dragon on the cave floor. Ultima approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Dan started, looking at Ultima. “Hey.”

“How are you doing?” She asked.

“I mean, in all my years of being in this time, I never saw a dragon. And now, the first time I see one, it gets killed right in front of me.”

“There was nothing we could do. Take comfort in the fact that it died nobly-defending others.”

“I-I guess.” Dan sighed, shaking his head.

“We’re ready to head out!” Arin called.

The Bombers grouped to leave the cave, Dan lingering behind to get one last look at the cave, and the dragon inside it.

Glancing down, something glinted near the dragon’s body. He blinked, crouching down to inspect the glimmer. A miniscule orange gem encased in a brilliant sapphire seemed to have fallen out of the dragon’s wound.

“Dan!” Ultima called back down the hall at him.

“Coming!” Dan picked up the gem, dropping it in his pocket, almost immediately forgetting about it.

—-

The Bombers reboarded their ship, Latesca in tow. Ultima helped Latesca to the kitchen, letting her sit with a cup of tea before her. Arin joined Ultima, sitting with her and Latesca.

As soon as Barry announced lift off, Latesca burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. Ultima stared at the woman, pressing her lips together into a thin line. She started shaking her head, standing up and striding quickly to a wall panel. She purposefully punched away at buttons, mind focused on the task.

“Ultima, what are you doing?” Arin asked.

“I’m trying to establish contact with Sicario’s camp.”

“What?”

“Because I’m going to get Escara back.”

“Ultima, stop!” Arin commanded. “Explain yourself!”

“Look at Latesca, Arin! Look at how distressing this is for her to be separated from her daughter! I’m going to get her back!”  
“And how do you plan to do that?” Arin inquired in measured breaths.

“Easy-we make a trade with Sicario.”

“What kind of trade?” Arin asked.

She took a deep breath, looking straight into Arin’s eyes. “I trade myself for Escara.”

Arin’s blood went cold. “No, no, Ultima, we can get someone else to trade in for you, you don’t have to sacrifice yourself!”

“Arin, I’m the only one of the crew that can do this! Look at me! Look at Latesca! And you remember what Escara looked like!”

“What does that mean?” Arin urged.

“Sicario has a type. Olive skin, and black hair.” Ultima explained.

“Ultima, no. As your Commander, I expressly forbid it!” Arin stated.

“And as the Daughter of the Cosmos, I refuse to accept that order!” Ultima screamed in reply. They stared at each other, a standoff between an unstoppable force and an immovable object.

Then one voice broke through to tip the scales in ULtima’s favor. 


	25. Such Bitter Sorrow (Arin - Ultima = Tears And Rage)

Latesca spoke up. “She can do it.” She stated confidently, looking up from her tea.

Arin turned to her slowly. “How can you be so sure?”

“I owe her my life. I’ve never seen anyone defy Sicario like that and live. If anyone can find their way into his heart to reveal his plans, it’s her.” Latesca stated, nodding to Ultima.

“Then it’s settled.” Ultima nodded.

“No, it’s not. We have to discuss this with the rest of the crew.” Arin reasoned.

“I can’t argue with that.” Ultima assented.

—

The Bombers assembled on the Bridge, waiting to hear an announcement from ULtima, the first she’d announced.

“So, as far as you guys know, we’re done with Seritutem as a planet. But we didn’t leave Seritutem in a good state; Sicario still holds some sinister power over the planet, and Latesca has been separated from her daughter.”

“Is this a sadness meeting? Are we here to feel worse about what we did?” Ross asked, crossing his arms in a huff.

“We’re here because I have a solution to everything I’ve mentioned.” Ultima looked at Arin, who locked eyes with her before quickly looking away. “I’m going to trade my freedom for Escara’s and infiltrate Sicario’s organization to find out what he’s doing on Seritutem.”

The room was immediately in an uproar, cries of surprise sounding out from the group.

“Ultima, you can’t do this!” Dan cried, standing up.

“On the contrary-I’m the only one who can do it.” Ultima calmly explained.

“Sicario seems to favor women with sun kissed skin and black hair.” Latesca spoke up, arms crossed from behind Ultima, seemingly at somber ease with her circumstances. “And she can defy him without the fear of death.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Dan muttered.

“How do you think I feel?” Arin asked bitterly.

“You’re not opposing this?” Dan countered.

“I’ve tried! Even being a leader doesn’t seem to matter.” Arin muttered.

“Being a leader isn’t about doing what’s easy. It means doing the right thing, no matter how difficult it is.” Ultima proclaimed. “Barry, set up a line of communication with Sicario. We need to have words with him.”

—

Sicario enthusiastically agreed to meet the Bombers to discuss a trade, titillated by the trade that they offered. Arin didn’t want to fully disclose what the trade entailed, and Sicario seemed okay with waiting.

After communications were cut, Ultima got surprisingly quiet, and excused herself to go to her room.

Arin walked into the doorway of Ultima’s room, standing quietly in the doorway.

Ultima was facing the window of her room, watching the stars pass by, in solemn contemplation. Arin walked in, sitting across the couch from her to star watch for a minute. “How are you holding up?” He asked, glancing at her to read her reaction.

Ultima sighed, resting her head on the glass of the window. “Weirdly calm. But, under that, I’m terrified.”

“Of what?”

“Not even of, like, Sicario, or whatever he’s doing down there. I’m scared for you.” She looked over at him, not moving her head.

“You’re scared for me?” Arin asked, perplexed.

“You just realized what you feel for me-I crashed into your life less than three months ago, and now I’m gonna disappear for, who knows how long.”

“I’ll manage.” Arin smiled falsely, lips twitching as tears threatened to come forward.

Ultima stood up, taking his hand. “Look, I’ve got one more night here. Do you want to spend the night?” She asked, tilting her head towards her bed.

Arin let Ultima lead him to the bed, laying down next to her on top of the covers. Neither said a word, Arin because he didn’t want to break the moment, and Ultima because she was focused on memorizing Arin’s face.

And then, tenderness.

Ultima traced her fingers along Arin’s lips, Arin staring into her eyes. Ultima leaned in, Arin closing his eyes as her fingers were replaced by lips. Ultima kissed Arin firmly, pressing into him. Her tongue parted his lips, and she traced his fangs with her tongue, Arin revelling in the feeling.

Her hands strayed down to trace the buttons closing his captains’ jacket. Her fingers fumbled for a moment, unbuttoning his jacket. Arin shuddered, tugging down the strap of her dress slowly.

Then it stopped. Ultima pulled her lips away, resting her forehead on Arin’s, her hands paused mid un-button. “I can’t.” She sobbed softly, shaking her head.

Arin tilted her head up to look into his eyes. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“It’s not fair to you. I can’t…sleep with you and leave you like that. It’s not….” She sniffed, burying her face in the crook of his neck, crying loudly, brokenly.

Arin held her close, stroking the back of her head. “Ultima, let’s not end the night in tears.” He kissed her forehead as she stopped crying, resting her head against the pillow.

“Then just let me sleep.” She sighed, closing her eyes.

Arin held her tightly, wrapping his tail around her waist. “Please don’t leave me.” He whispered into her hair, clenching his eyes closed tightly as tears flowed freely down his cheeks. 


	26. Sending My Love On A Wire (A Watched Pot Boils Over)

In the morning, Ultima pulled herself awake, wiping dried tears off her face. 

She stared at Arin’s sleeping face, trying to justify what she was going to do in the face of such serenity.

As she contemplated this, Arin woke up, startling her. “How long have you been awake?” He asked drowsily.

“A few minutes.” She admitted, sighing as she sat up.

Arin looked at the clock on the bedside table, his face falling. “We have a few hours before meeting with Sicario.”

“Alright. I have to get some things ready.” She kissed his forehead, standing up. “Head on to breakfast. I’ll be there in a sec.”

—

Breakfast that day was a troubling premonition of what was to come-Ultima’s absence felt strongly by the Bombers.

After half an hour of awkward, quiet, eating, Ultima strode in, holding her black box in her hands. Instead of her typical black dress and Bomber Crew Cape Uniform, she was wearing simple cotton shorts and a long sleeved shirt, a stark turnaround from her normal clothes.

“So I realize that you guys are gonna want to see how I’m doing while I’m out there.” She started, cutting right to the point. “Now, I know none of you guys are totally clear on what this box actually is, but, with a little finagling…”

She sat down, placing the box on the table. Holding her hands out around it, the box began to shrink and flatten, until it was about the size of a quarter. Ultima picked up the tiny black shard of rock, placing it over the red gem on her throat. The square melted into her skin until it was fully absorbed,  like a tattoo of a black cube around the red gem.

Arin blinked, squinting at Ultima. “And, this helps us how?”

“I’m not finished.” She stood up, walking out of the room.

“That’s not-” Ross began, jumping out of his metal skin when a hologram began materializing in the center of the room. The hologram coalesced to reveal Ultima, standing in the hallway just outside the kitchen.

“A hologram!” Barry announced excitedly from a speaker nearby.

“A communication device?” Holly asked, perplexed.

“Not precisely.” Ultima walked back into the kitchen as the hologram disappeared. “I can’t hear you guys, and I can’t talk to you guys.”

“How does that help at all?” Dan ran his hands through his hair worriedly.

“Because no matter where I am, you guys will be able to see how I’m doing. Not the most ideal situation, but maybe this will provide you guys with some peace of mind.”

Arin sighed, standing up to take her hand. “Just, please, be careful.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m made of the universe, sort of.” Ultima admitted.

Arin smiled weakly, sadness in his eyes.

—

The Bombers touched down on Seritutem, Ultima’s hair in a long french braid that trailed down to her ankles.

A group of guards greeted the Bombers when they, leading them to a white tent. Inside, Sicario sat on an ornate wooden chair, legs splayed out in the best representation of undeserved leisure the Bombers had ever seen.

“So, what is this trade that you wanted to make?” He asked, tenting his fingers while his elbows rested on the chair's’ armrests.

“We’ve come to petition for Escara’s release.” Arin answered in a measured tone.

“And what can you give me that will justify that?” Sicario mused, staring at Arin with an infuriating smirk on his face.

“Me.” Ultima stared Sicario down, fire in her eyes and defiance in her stance.

Sicarios face betrayed him. With shock scrawled across his features, he sat up at attention. “What?”

“Give Escara her freedom, and in exchange, you get me.” Ultima swallowed back the urge to retch in disgust.

“Deal.” Sicario couldn’t agree fast enough, standing up. “Guards! Go find Escara, tell her the good news.” He turned back to Ultima, openly staring at her.

Arin clenched his fists in anger, locking his jaw to keep from biting Sicario’s head off.

—-

The Bombers returned to the Starbomb with a free Escara, Sicario and Ultima standing outside to watch them leave.

While Escara and her mother had a happy reunion elsewhere in the ship, Arin and the rest of the Bombers watching as they lifted off from Seritutem. Ultima stared up at the ship, suddenly feeling incredibly helpless despite herself.

Arin watched on as Ultima shrank, the ship flying off and leaving the new home of his new love behind.

Arin stormed away from the window, leaving the Bombers to watch. The Bombers were startled by the most terrifying screech they’d ever heard in their lives, the sound echoing from the kitchen.

Dan ran on ahead to the kitchen, where Arin was sitting curled up against the wall, cradling a bleeding hand. There was a small, bloody dent in the wall beside him, indicating to Dan that Arin had punched the wall in rage.

“Arin?” Dan asked, crouching down to look at Arin.

Arin looked down at his fist, then back up at Dan. “I miss her.” He whispered, crying as he held onto his bleeding, possibly broken wrist and hand. “I want her back.” He rocked back and forth with the force of his crying.

Dan hugged Arin, patting his back. “Be safe, Ultima.” He whispered, terrified at the state that Arin was in without Ultima. 


	27. Woah, I'm King?!? (But Apparently Not To You)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always pictured Sicario as Viserys Targaryen anyway.

Ultima stared up into the azure sky as the Starbomb disappeared, her chance of escaping Seritutem gone.

“If you’re done.” Sicario cleared his throat, prompting Ultima to turn to him. “I’ll take you to your quarters.”

Ultima sighed, walking alongside Sicario with crossed arms, watching Sicario warily. “So, Sicario, what is it that-”

She stopped when Sicario turned to her, death in his eyes. “You will address me as Sovereign King Sicario Immortio of Seritutem, or you will not address me at all.”

Ultima laughed despite herself, shaking her head. “Yeah, yeah, I’m not gonna do that.”  
Sicario blushed, walking right up to Ultima, invading himself into her personal space. “Don’t I scare you at all?”

“Nah, not really.” She backed up, tilting her head in thought. “You’re kinda squirrelly looking to be honest, what with your white hair and what not.”

“Don’t insult my hair!” He shouted, blood rising into his face.

“Not insulting it, just commenting. It looks…interesting.” She shrugged, not at all giving off the appearance of a frightened person.

Sicario huffed, turning from her to lead her to a square tent nearby, the fabric slightly dirtier than Sicario’s tent. “Here’s where you’ll be sleeping.” He ripped the door open to an empty tent. There were a few other beds spaced out around the tent, but they were bare, no pillows and blankets in sight.  

“Where’s everyone else?” She asked worriedly, turning to Sicario.

“The mines. They’ll be back in a few hours. Get a good nights’ sleep. You’ll need it.” He said solemnly, turning from Ultima, leaving her in the tent.

Ultima looked around the empty tent, spying a pair of shoes under a bed nearby. She bent down to pick them up, trying to decipher something about their owner from it.

There were several dots of blood around the toes of the shoe, and they were incredibly worn from use.

Ultima dropped the shoes in shock, the full gravity of her situation settling on her shoulders like a lead blanket. 


	28. Let Me Dream Again (The Cold Misses The Warmth)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soft raptor boy misses his cosmic lady friend.

Arin shivered on the floor, the freezing cold seeping into his bones.

 His teeth chattered, death rapidly closing around him. He knew that there was no hope for rescue.

In the recesses of the prison he was trapped in, Arin thought he could hear Ultima’s calling out his name. Interspersed with the her voice was the sound of rock crumbling, his love fighting her way to him. Then the stone wall in front of him seemed to melt into pebbles, and a brilliant light shone through it.

When his eyes adjusted to the warm illumination, Arin could see that Ultima was standing before him, her skin glowing with the universe itself.

“Ultima.” Arin breathed weakly, reaching out to her as she bent down, offering her his hand.

He took it, grasp feeble, but growing stronger in the presence of Ultimas’ warmth. “I missed you so much.” He whimpered, Ultima placing a hand on the side of his face.

“It’s alright, Arin.” She soothed gently, her voice a serene balm for Arin’s soul. “I’m here now, and nothing’s going to take me from you again.”

Arin curled himself into her arms, Ultimas’ warmth enveloping him.

It truly was too good to be real. A cruel illusion, constructed in desperation by Arins’ mind to protect him from the shock of Ultima’s absence. But what was meant to defend only worsened the blow. Like a knife slathered in poison, Ultimas departure continued to pulse poison through his bring, long after the initial injury.

Arin opened his tired eyes, unwilling to face the day. He wasn’t quite in a cold sweat, but he did feel the absence of some warmth.

He looked at the clock on the wall, sighing slowly. A soft bing came from the wall.

“Arin?” Barry asked timidly.

“I’m fine. Just set a course for Araneae.” He spoke quietly, not moving at all.

“Okay…just, you know we’re all here for you.” Barry replied, worried.

“I know. Thank you.” Arin answered.

—

When Arin arrived at breakfast, the rest of the crew was already well into the meal, eating and chatting at a low volume. Arin walked into the room, and the conversation silenced.

Arin said nothing, but his red eyes gave everything away. He walked to a cabinet, grabbing a bowl and food packets.

“Hey Arin.” Dan asked carefully. “How are you holding up?”

Arin sighed, holding the cabinet open while he spoke. “The woman I love is currently in the hands of an entitled, spoiled, diabolical, conniving, irreverent and egomaniacal madman on an unfamiliar planet, and I can’t do anything about it. I’m holding up like a house of cards in a wind tunnel.”

Dan bit his lips, looking down. “Well, the Araneae’s will be able to help. They have before.”

Arin sat down, food and bowl in hand. “Let’s hope for all our sakes that they can.”


	29. An Introduction (New Allies And Your Crew For Now)

Ultima lay down on the bare , smaller-than-twin-size mattress, trying to formulate a plan for her stay on Seritutem.

The sound of rattling chains disrupted her planning, and she sat up, staring as five women entered the tent, arms shackled in thin chains, their clothes seemingly composed of dirtied white cotton bandages and cloth.

The women settled down into separate cots with blank, tired expressions on their faces. After five minutes of silent exhaustion, Ultima cleared her throat, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

“Uh, hello.” Ultima broke the silence, waving non-committally at the five women.

Ten eyes snapped at attention, swivelling to stare at Ultima. “Who are you?” One woman with a scar on her lip asked Ultima.

“My name is Ultima Es-” She began.

“No, no.” Another girl with a streak of red in her short black hair shook her head. “No last names on Seritutem, at least not amongst the likes of us.”

“Right, well, just Ultima.” She nodded at the girl.

“Where are your shackles?” The scar-lipped woman asked, pointing at Ultima’s wrists. “What are you?”

“I-guess I’m whatever you all are.” Ultima looked around the room at the assembled woman.

“Well, no matter. Introductions are in order.” The woman with a scar on her lip began. “My name is Angora.”

“Dagma.” The pixie haired woman with a red streak in her black hair nodded to Ultima.

“Her daughter, Mastola.” A younger woman with hair the color of black and red mixed together, a streak of black through it.

“Caparia.” Nodded a woman with long salt and pepper hair. Ultima noted a fading scar running over her eye.

“Her daughter, Riareed.” A younger woman with black and grey stripes in her hair said.

“Interesting names.” Ultima noted. “Why does Sicario keep you all here?”

Angora sighed, laying back onto her cot. “You’ll see tomorrow. I would recommend a long rest-you’ll need all your strength come morning.” She said ominously, staring up at the ceiling. 


	30. An Audience With Royalty (Old Blood, New Threats)

“Araneae Shipdock, this is Commander Egoraptor, of the ship Starbomb, requesting permission to dock.” Arin spoke, his voice even and almost monotone, frighteningly professional.

A voice that was not entirely human hummed through the speakers on the Bridge, clicks and buzzing mixed in with the words. “Commander Egoraptor! Araneae is happy to see you again. You have permission to dock. Shall I notify the royal family of your visit?”

“This is not a social visit. We need to meet with them, but not under pleasant circumstances.” Arin explained.

The voice buzzed in surprise. “Will do.” The comm line clicked off as the Starbomb docked onto Araneae.

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in the Araneae war room, waiting on the Queen of the planet to meet with them.

After an unbearable amount of time, the doors opened as Queen Suzylanya Araneae entered the room. The Queen, more commonly known to the Bombers as simply Suzy, had eight arms, as was common for many residents of Araneae. Her long black hair was braided into a complex crown that seemed to be made of silver spiderwebs, laced with thin purple and black crystals. She nodded to Arin, eyes full of confusion.

“Commander Egoraptor.” She smiled at him, standing at the head of the war table. “I trust everything has been unfolding well for you and your crew.”

Arin’s face twitched, almost betraying the pain he felt for Ultima’s absence. “Not quite. One of our own is currently trapped on Seritutem.”

Suzy’s face darkened. “Seritutem?”

“Yes, and she’s currently in the hands of a madman who goes by the name Sicario Immortio.”

Suzy’s face blanched, shocked. “Oh, Arin.” She shook her head. “If she’s in Sicario’s clutches, she’s as good as dead.”

“Don’t say that!” Arin’s face finally broke, tears running freely down his face as he held it in his hands.

Once they finished consoling Arin, Suzy got all of the Bombers chairs to explain Araneae’s long and bloody history with Seritutem.

“When my parents were in power, Seritutem and Araneae were good trade partners, and they shared a peaceful coexistence. But, just before my parents passed on the crown to me, a new power began to rise on Seritutem. The Immortio family was a powerful ruling power that held onto Seritutem with an iron fist. Their rise in power was, troubling, and far faster than it should have been.”

“How did they rise up so quickly?” Dan asked, fearing the answer.

Suzy sighed, looking down at her hands. “Moon dust. A powerful drug, created from Moonstone, a rock that Seritutem supplies in abundance. When the Immortio family found a frighteningly prominent vein of Moonstone on Seritutem. They hired desperate civilians-those that needed work-to work in their mines to dig out the stone. After acquiring the first major haul of Moonstone, they used it to develop the first batches of Moon Dust, and got their miners addicted to it.”

“God, what an asshole.” Ross muttered.

“I would agree, though not as colloquially.” Suzy nodded to Ross. “In the years since then, the whole of Seritutem has fallen into a disarray. Familial ties have been forgotten, and many would slit a man’s throat for a pebble of Moon Dust.”

“And now? Why not just attack Seritutem and remove the Immortios from their seat of power?” Arin looked up at her.

“Because…they have dragons.” She muttered. “Do you have any idea how susceptible my people are to flame? If we so much as step on their toes, they would stamp us out without a second thought.” Suzy turned to Arin. “Your crew member, Ultima Espa Ranza?”

Arin nodded fearfully. “What?”

“I hope you’ve said your goodbyes. Even if she comes back to you, she will no longer be the woman you once knew.” 


	31. All Good Deeds Go Punished (Now He Sees You More Than Ever)

Ultima stared at the sand above her, watching it shift to match her thoughts. 

During the night, she hadn’t been able to sleep. In lieu of trying to find a way to lull herself back to sleep, she worked.

She’d started by laying on her side, moving a small handful of sand into simple shapes. She gradually added more and more sand over the night, eventually rolling over to lay on her back, the sand floating above her.

By the time morning rolled around, Ultima had amassed a large block of sand, working on turning it into a complex structure, a 3D maze complete with chutes, ladders, and trap doors, secret entrances.

“Awake!” Sicario’s voice barked, breaking the concentration she’d formed.

The sand above her collapsed onto her, coating her in a fine layer of red-orange dust. She coughed as Sicario entered the tent, flanked by two guards, smirking as he saw Ultima covered in sand.

“Don’t look so pleased with yourself.” She muttered, sitting up with her tent-mates.

“You all have five minutes. You can have breakfast after you’ve filled the quota.” He replied, turning on his heel from the tent.

Upon exiting the tent, Ultima and the five women were led to a nearby valley, hidden away by the rolls of sand along the horizon.

The guards accompanying Sicario rolled out a cart filled with pickaxes. Each of the women grabbed an axe, Angora handing one over to Ultima. She held the wood in her hands, feeling the life that it once held.

“Get ready.” Angora whispered urgently, leading Ultima to a vein of silvery-white rock embedded in the orange valley wall. The guards took up positions ten feet away from the women as they began bringing their axes down on the vein of rocks, chunks the size of basketballs falling to their feet after a few well-aimed swings.

“Miners? We’re just mining rocks?” She whispered over to Angora.

“Keep. Your. Voice. Down.” Angora muttered back, barely moving her lips. “But yes. Moonstone. Sicario needs a lot of it.”

“For what?” Ultima asked, passing the chunk of rock of into a large cart that had been placed nearby for the women to deposit the rock into.

“Moon Dust. Now keep swinging, or this rock won’t be the only thing splitting open today.” Angora finished, bringing the pickaxe down on a particularly large chunk of rock.

After about two hours of mining under the searing Seritutem sun, Sicario seemed satisfied with the haul that had been produced for their work that day. “That’s quite enough. Br-” Sicario stopped, a rough groaning echoing through the valley. “Move!” He yelled, panicked.

The ground beneath Ultima’s feet rumbled. She look up to see that the rock wall above the group shifting, threatening to bury them all between a rock and a sandy place.

Ultima ran back to the five women, shoving them forward. “Run, run!”

“We can’t leave you!” Caparia shouted back, glancing up at the rock wall that was tipping over faster and faster.

“Go! I’ll be fine!” She shouted, trying to muster up a smile of courage for the women.

Four of them had managed to run back, Mastola lagging behind to stare at Ultima. When the sand beneath her feet began running down into the valley, the weight of the sliding rock wall making the valley morph around to trap Mastola and Ultima under the plane of rock.

“Mastola!” Dagma screamed, tears streaming down her face. “No, please! Mastola!”

Ultima ran forward to grab Mastola as the rocks above collapsed on them, curling over the young girl’s body to protect her from the rocks around them.

Ultima concentrated all her energy on the stone around them, forming a small pocket amongst the rubble to keep them safe. Red curls of energy blasted off of Ultima’s skin, solidifying the stones to keep them from crushing her and Mastola.

Mastola blinked, looking up. “I-we’re alive?”

“Yeah. Hold on.” Ultima sat up cautiously, careful not to disturb the rocks around them. Soon enough, the sounds of stone moving against stone reached their ears, and the two women looked up to see Sicario and his men looking down at the two miraculous survivors.

“Do you have something to tell me?” Sicario asked with a set jaw and a tight lip. 


	32. How Foolish To Woo A Fleeting Phantom (Suffering Time For Dan And Arin)

Arin jolted awake, words caught in his throat.

It was either a drawn out scream, or a profession of love.

He didn’t know which would hurt more.

Arin walked out of the guest bedroom and into the main foyer of Suzy’s palace.

“Arin?” Suzy turned to him, holding a few rolls of parchment and weathered books. “Couldn’t sleep?” She wasn’t wearing

He shook his head, sighing heavily. “No. Doing some research?”

“Yes. I was just heading over to the war room to go over it. Would you like to come review it with me?”

The two of them headed over to the war room, Arin settling himself into a nearby chair, Suzy sitting across from him.

“The two women you rescued from Seritutem, Latesca and Escara?” Suzy began.

“I didn’t rescue them. It was Ultima that sacrificed herself for their freedom.” Arin corrected.

Suzy nodded solemnly. “A noble woman, for certain. After helping the mother and daughter settle into their rooms, I met with them to ask about the nature of the work they did for Sicario, and the results were…troubling.” She unfurled a thin scroll, handing it to Arin.

He unfurled it, reading the scroll with an impending sense of dread. “This can’t be true.” He whispered, the parchment shaking in his hand.

“Escara was not happy to report it. But, Ultima must be stronger than the previous women in Sicario’s attentions. I trust what you’ve said about her.” Suzy took the scroll back, tucking it beside the table.

Arin hung his head, looking at his hand, faint bruises left behind on his hand. “Minutes after Ultima gave herself up to Sicario, I couldn’t take it. I-” He shook his head, flexing the hand he’d broken in his grief. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her.”

“You truly miss her, don’t you?” Suzy asked. “Were you at least able to send her off with a communicator?”

“Too risky. The most she could do was create a link with us. She can project an image of herself, but there’s no way to make it appear.” He wiped his face with his hand, holding his jaw in place as he started to shake with sobs.

“Arin.” Suzy whispered, urging him to look up.

He sniffed, looking up. He stood up, knocking his chair back as he stared in wonder at the light before him. “Ultima?” He whispered.

In the air above the war table, dots of light began blinking into existence one by one. Once the bare outline of Ultima lit up, light began to spread from dot to dot, creating a three dimensional image of Ultima. The projection was more or less devoid of color, but Arin could distinguish skin from cloth, hair from body.

Ultima’s projection crossed her arms, biting her lip. Arin could see the fuzzy outline of her environment around her, a faint projection that looked like Sicario standing before her.

The two figures were in a heated argument, their body language indicating accusation and defensiveness, for Sicario and Ultima respectively.

“Ultima.” Arin reached forward to take her hand.

Suddenly, Sicario reached forward, grabbing Ultima’s upper arm, and the projection seemed to explode with light.

From the point where Sicario grabbed Ultima’s arm, ripples of light exploded from her arm, rippling out throughout the projection and beyond. It was as if Arin and Suzy were looking through a window into the scene before them: Ultima was standing in front of a pile of crumbled rocks, Sicario grabbing her arm. Guards stood back, holding back five women from running to Ultima’s aide. Not that they would need to.

A plume of sand from the ground shot up to strike Sicario in the face, knocking him back on his feet. “Don’t touch me!” Ultima yelled at him, sand swirling around Sicario’s arms and hands, threatening to bury him in the sand.

“Ultima, stop!” Arin urged reaching out to touch the hand of her projection. Ultima stopped, looking at her hand. She curled the fingers in the air before lowering them at her sides. The sand stopped moving, no longer holding Sicario down.

Once Ultima’s power stopped coursing through her, the projection lost its’ clarity, reverting back to just Ultima and the thinnest outline of Sicario. Then the projection faded away completely, Arin pulling his hand back to himself, staring at it.

“She felt it.” He muttered, staring at Suzy in surprise, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “She felt me.” His voice cracked, and he sobbed harder than ever. 


	33. There's Silver In My Eyes (Even Though I'm Not Crying)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tw: Fictional drug use.

After Ultima’s outburst at Sicario, the women were ordered to return to their tent.

When dawn broke the next day, Sicario did not call for the women to mine again, leaving them to chat amongst themselves until nighttime.

“You found Escara?” Caparia asked, looking at Ultima.

“Not just me. The rest of the crew-the Bombers, we just moved out and found the ruins.” Ultima turned to the scar-eyed woman. “Honestly, she seemed okay there, with the dragon. I can’t imagine what she was eating-”

“Dragon?” Riareed sat up. “There are dragons on Seritutem?”

“There were.” Dagma replied, sighing heavily. “Dragons were once-” But this intensely vital information was cut short when a guard opened the tent flap.

“Ultima. Sicario wants you in his tent.” The guard gruffly ordered.

Ultima clenched her hands into fists, loosening them to stand, following the guard to the regal tent nearby.

Sicario sat inside his tent, sitting before a table set for a lavish, but small dinner. “Hello.” He nodded to Ultima, not standing to greet her. “Sit. Eat. You must be hungry.” He purred quietly.

Ultima sat across from him, staring at him warily. “Not poisoned, is it?”

Sicario frowned. “Now why would I harm my most prized possession?”

“I am not a thing to be possessed.” She growled, hands curling around the edge of the chair.

“On the contrary, everything and everyone is available for the taking.” He smiled.

“And you can’t be possessed?”

“What a silly thought.” He mused, tilting his head at her.

Ultima gave up, looking down to start eating. The two of them ate, Sicario never taking his eyes off of Ultima as she ate.

When the meal was concluded, the guards came in to clear the table. Sicario leaned back in his chair, tenting his fingers as he processed something. “Do you know why I brought you here, Ultima?”

“No.” She licked her lips, leaning forward on the table. “Why not tell me?”

“I’d like to show you the fruits of your labor.” He smirked, standing up to grab an old wooden box. The front of the box was embossed with carvings of the moon’s phases, the wood worn and well used.

He placed the box on the table facing away from Ultima, and he began setting up a contraption.

Sicario took out a candle first, placing it on the center of the table. A small metal plate attached to a thin stand was arranged to hang above the candle, clearly meant for something to be heated up in it. He took out a small silver tube that came down to a point, a sort of lighter. And lastly, a miniscule syringe and a small bag made of silver velvet.

“If you don’t mind.” He held his hand out for Ultima’s hand.

“What is this?” She asked, truly curious.

“I can show you.” He reassured, taking her hand. He poked the tip of her middle finger with the end of the syringe, Ultima feeling the same strange pull of her blood being drawn.

Sicario pulled the syringe away and deposited her blood into the small metal dish above the candle, lighting the candle immediately after.

Once the blood in the dish began to boil, Sicario opened the silver bag, taking out a small white-silver chunk of moonstone, dropping it into the blood.

All at once, the red of her blood was permeated with a spreading sheen of silver, the liquid dissolving into a pile of bright silver dust.

“Moon dust.” Ultima whispered, looking up at Sicario.

He unclipped the heating dish from the stand, placing it before Ultima. “Take it.”

“I’m not snorting this.” She shook her head, reaching forward to push the spoon away from her. Her pinkie grazed the silver dust, and it seemed to gain a mind of its’ own.

The moon dust swirled in a straight line around her arm, making a beeline for Ultima’s face. She frantically waved her hand at the dust, trying to bat it away. “No! No, get it off me!” She screamed, standing up. The moving silver dust finally met its’ destination.

Ultima could only stare at Sicario in horror as the silver dust flew into her head, absorbing into her eyes and flying into her mouth.

She coughed, falling to her knees on the ground. Her vision began swimming, focusing in and out in spots, random parts of her vision blurring.

“Wh-what’s happening to me…” Her own voice sounded far away and echoey, as if her mind was floating in disconnect from her body.

Sicario kneeled before her, grinning. “This is wonderful…”

Ultima looked up at Sicario, but she no longer saw his face. Sicario’s face began rearranging to form-Arin’s face. She blinked, reaching out to him. “Arin…” She cooed, wanting to cry at the sight of him.

Then she stopped, furrowing her brow as her gem sparked strangely, her powers thrumming at a low buzz. Sicario’s face flickered in to intrude on the illusion of Arin’s face. She shook her head. “No, no, it’s wrong. You’re not…” Ultima gasped sharply, falling flat on her back, trembling violently, her arms locked at her sides as her legs curling up to look like she was kneeling on her sides.

“No, no…” She whimpered, head locked in to stare at Sicario’s face. Her body was rigid, and she hated feeling so helpless.

Then, solace.

Ultima felt her hand tingle, that same tingle that she had felt before, when her rage almost buried Sicario. She felt the warm tingle and knew that Arin was trying to hold her projection’s hand, a paltry replacement for her real hand. But the sentiment was the same, and it gave Ultima some peace of mind as she lost her mind.

As she slipped into moon dust induced unconsciousness, she dreaded knowing Arin had seen everything that had just transpired. As the silver-black edges of senselessness pulled her into the void of sleep, she could only hope that nothing worse would transpire as her mind fully shut down.


	34. Not A Sweet Dream Nor A Beautiful Nightmare (Depends On Who's Dreaming)

Ultima looked up from where on the floor to see two figures dancing. 

She thought that this might be a nice scene, but soon dread slowly permeated her mind.

Arin and Dan stood several feet away, in the center of a white and silver room, engaged in what looked like a slow waltz. Arin was resting his head on Dan’s chest, but this was not what troubled her.

As Dan spun, she could see the red gem on his stomach, glowing with sickening power. His clothes had changed back to those that Dan wore when possessed by the red gem, the terrifying projection that marred Ultima’s throat and terrorized the Bombers.

The gem-powered Dan stroked Arin’s hair, spying Ultima from across the room. Dan grinned sickeningly, his mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. He turned his head to whisper into Arin’s ear. Arin turned to Ultima, smiling in a way Ultima had never seen Arin do.

The two began advancing towards her, and Ultima scrambled to her feet. No sooner had she stood when thin silver chains shot out from the floor, wrapping around her feet and arms, locking her in place. Her heart raced against her ribcage like a marathon runner, Arin and Dan less than an arm’s length away.

Ultima finally got a good look at Arin’s face, and finally saw that his pupils were the thinnest she’d ever seen them, undilated down into razor thin black lines against the yellow iris.

“Arin-Arin, please, it’s me.” She whispered, desperately trying to get through to him somehow. Arin stood before her, Dan standing behind Ultima. The silver chains faded away, Ultima trapped between the two men she loved, but no longer able to recognize them.

Arin took a hold of Ultima’s left hand, placing his left hand on her right shoulder. Dan did the opposite, grabbing her right hand, placing his hand on her left shoulder. The two now held Ultima in a disturbingly tender trap, with no hope for escape.

Ultima tried to struggle against their grip, but it was of no use. Arin lowered his head down towards the left side of Ultima’s neck, Dan doing the same on the other side. “No, no.” Ultima whispered weakly.

Then two sets of razor sharp dug into both sides of her neck. Ultima screamed, blood running out of her as the pain sharpened to unbearable heights. Blinding red pain lined with silver tore through her body, and some deep, hidden part of her mind enjoyed all of it.

—

In the waking world, Ultima shook her head, tears streaming down her face, both burning and freezing her face where her tears touched her skin. “No, no…” She whimpered, a high pitched keening sound leaving her as she toiled in physical and emotional pain.

As Ultima stared into voidish nothing, her eyes clouded and close by the machinations of the infernal dust, she heard a far off voice saying. “You’ve been taken into the embrace of the moon. It’s touched your mind, kissed your soul, caressed your thoughts, and now you can never escape.”


	35. An Interlude (One Night Has Ruined Three Lovers)

“I won’t sit here any longer!” Arin yelled, pacing around the room.

 Arin had watched in terror as Ultima finally succumbed to the pull of moon dust, now locked in the aftermath of it.

“Arin, you must calm yourself.” Suzy reasoned, reaching out a hand towards him. “You know almost nothing of moon dust. Escara? Latesca?” She turned to the two women seated at the war table.

Escara rested her chin on her hand, thinking over with a furrowed brow. “Moon dust takes time to truly take a hold of someone’s mind. It takes precisely three times for one to become fully addicted.”

“If Sicario doesn’t influence her first.” She looked up with tired eyes.

“What do you mean?” Arin asked, clenching his fists.

“If Ultima ingests moon dust created with Sicario’s blood, she will be at the mercy of his demands.” Latesca whispered, looking at Arin.

“I won’t let Ultima become a slave to a madman!” Ultima roared, slamming the table with his fist, making the assembled being jump.

The Bombers were also present at the meeting, invited to watch the hologram Ultima after Arin discovered that he could touch the hologram and make contact with Ultima.

“This is getting us nowhere.” Holly spoke up, pushing a stack of scrolls back into place. “You can’t just fly off to Seritutem with a fire in your heart, and no plan.”

“Holly’s right.” Dan replied, looking up from the shiny silvery pen that he had been staring at. As he spoke, her tucked the shining pen into his back pocket, folding his hands together. “I think we should at least get a sense of what we can attack Sicario with first.”

Arin stared at Dan in anger. “You’re in love with her too. Why are you so fucking calm!?” He shouted, storming out of the room.

Ross looked over at Dan. “There’s something different about you.”

“What? No, there’s not. I’m fine.” Dan replied, standing up. He grabbed a map marker made of silver and onyx, tucking it away in his pocket as he followed Arin out of the room.

“Arin!” Dan called, walking into the guest wing hallway. “Arin, talk to-” He stopped, looking into the guest room Arin was staying in. Arin was curled up on the bed, staring into nothing as silent tears rolled down his cheeks. “Arin?”

The raptillian commander looked at Dan, blinking as he sat up. “Sorry about exploding at you like that.”

“I get it. I would have done the same if I were you.” Dan sat on the bed, crossing his legs under him. “You’ve been through a ton of shit in the last week. I’d be going just as stir crazy with all this sitting around.”

“How are you so calm? How are you always so calm?” Arin sat up.

“I just…I’ve never been the one to get so riled up. I usually just, pick something, and hold onto that, believe in it.”

“What are you holding onto this time?”

“I’ve seen the way Ultima looks at you. She would do anything to come back to you-no matter what. And I know she’s strong enough to do it because…because I believe in what she stands for.”

“What’s that?” Arin asked.

“Hope.”


	36. In Lunae Veritas (You're Gone And I've Gotta Stay-)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -high, all the time.

Ultima’s consciousness slowly bled into her field of vision, impressions of light and color taking shape into fuller, clearer forms. 

She blinked once, twice, trying to make sense of all that had transpired in the last few hours.

“She’s awake!” A far off voice called. Ultima slowly turned her head to see Mastola walking back from the other side of the tent, sitting next to Ultima on the cot. “How are you feeling?” The younger girl asked.

“I’m…alive. That counts for something.” She sat up slowly, every bone in her shoulders cracking as she did so.

“I guess it does, out here. Are you hungry? You’ve been asleep for nearly a day.” Mastola inquired.

“No, not really. I just…A whole day?” She stopped, looking at Mastola. “Was anyone, talking to me, while I was out of it? At all?”

Mastola furrowed her brow, crossing her arms. “What do you mean?”

“When I was…asleep, I could hear,” Ultima paused, trying to formulate her thoughts. “I heard someone saying something about the moon. About how, I can’t get away from it, or something.”

Mastola swallowed thickly, shaking her head. “None of us said anything like that. I don’t doubt that you heard it, but is it possible that it was someone else you heard?”

Ultima stared at the girl, and looked down, hugging her knees to her chest. “I don’t know what I’m hearing anymore. I don’t know what I’m feeling at all.”

“Ultima…when, when Sicario asked you to come to his tent, was it for moon dust?”

“Yeah. I guess that’s what it must have been. Why do you ask?” She looked up to see that Mastola had turned away from her.

“Just checking. Just checking.” Mastola murmured, staring intently at Ultima’s eyes walking back to her cot. The girl fell asleep shortly thereafter, snoring quietly as Ultima sat on her bed, contemplating what she had seen in her dream.

As she ran over the events of the dream again, her demand for answers only grew. Every time her mind ran itself in circles about what she had seen, the only possible answer grew more and more terrifyingly clear.

If she wanted answers to what the moon dust had shown her, her only solution was to go into that silver nothing again. She stood up and walked out, heading towards Sicario’s tent. The guards made no effort to stop her-they too had seen the light silver shine around Ultima’s eyes. They knew what it meant.

Ultima pushed the flap of Sicario’s tent open. Sicario was standing in front of a small table, consulting a large book and examining chunks of moonstone under a large magnifying glass. He turned to her, smiling widely. “Well-”

“No pleasantries. I want to try moon dust again.” She cut to the quick.

Sicario smiled with chagrin, walking up to Ultima as he crossed his arms. “What’s this about now?”

“I have my own reasons.” She sat at the table in the center of the room, crossing her arms.

Sicario grabbed the wooden box embossed with moons, sitting across from Ultima. As he set up the burner, her spoke inquisitively. “What did the moon show you? What did you see that made you want to come back?”

Ultima looked at the metal plate that would soon contain her blood. “I saw who I needed to see.” She replied. “And I need to see them again to be sure.” But as she spoke, she knew the truth: she wanted to see Dan and Arin again. It didn’t matter to her that they weren’t quite who she knew them to be, but she didn’t care. At least she got to see them again.

Sicario took Ultima’s blood, and repeated the process again. Once the silver dust was ready for use, he removed the dish and carefully placed it before Ultima.

She took a deep breath, reaching forward to tap the dust with her left pointer finger. It flew around her arm and trailed up to fly into her face. As the silver dust finished its’ journey by absorbing into her eyes, she leaned forward, bracing herself on the edge of the table. She breathed heavily as her vision swam, focusing in and out.

Ultima blinked rapidly as silver lined darkness creeped into the edges of her vision. Within seconds, Ultima fell asleep.

—

Ultima woke up staring at the ceiling of the same room she’d been in the last time she took moon dust. She sat up, looking around the room.

The cannibalistic Dan and undilated Arin were nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t imply that the room had gone unchanged. Ultima spied a strange silver shape on a wall across the room.

She stood shakily and approached the wall. There was a strange outline drawn on the white marble wall in the shape of Ultima’s body. But instead of chalk, the outline was made of a thin line of silver. Ultima looked down at the feet of the outline, and saw something troubling.

The silver outline’s was red from the hips down. An indent filled with blood was superimposed into the wall, but something about the nature of this place kept the red from spilling out onto the floor.

“What…” She reached out to trace the silver shape. She turned from it only to be standing face to face with Dan.

Like a silent movie heroine, Ultima clutched her chest, jumping back against the wall. She stared into the hungry eyes of the Dan that stood before her. “What do you want from me?” She asked, trying to find meaning in his face.

He grinned, moving forward to bite down on her neck again. But he stopped, pulling away. Ultima saw that Arin had placed his hand on Dan’s shoulder, pulling him away from Ultima.

She took the opportunity to walk away, to distance herself from the two men she thought she loved. Arin turned to her, his eyes just as undilated as before.

“I don’t know…why you look like this.” She spoke to Arin, backing up as he stepped towards her, Dan slinking in behind him. “But, I want to understand why I see you here.”

Arin paused, less than a foot away from Ultima. He tilted his head at her, regarding her with piercing eyes. He reached out to her with a black leather gloved hand.

She stopped him, taking his hand. Slowly, she placed his hand on her cheek, looking up at him. Arin’s expression didn’t change-his eyes were just as intense. “What do you want from me?”

Arin pulled away from her, looked at the silver outline of her body, then turned back to her.

“So, what?” Ultima asked. Arin didn’t reply, merely pointing to the center of her chest. “You, want my heart? I can’t just-”

In the blink of an eye, Arin stepped back from Ultima. Then Dans’ hand phased through her chest, shocking her into silence. She stared down at her chest, feeling a sharp, all consuming pressure building up around where her heart beat in her chest.

Then the pressure built up outward, and she felt something crucial being pulled out of her. She screamed as her back arched, Dan yanking his hand out of her chest, holding the prize in hand. Despite the gruesomeness of the act, there was no blood on her chest, or any sign of injury present. Dan’s hand was completely clean, and he didn’t hold an anatomically correct heart in his hand. Ultima’s heart looked like a ruby encased in a layer of diamond, glowing with life.

Ultima fell to her knees, staring up as Dan and Arin regarded the crystalline heart with manic glee on their faces. She breathed heavily, staring in horror as Dan crushed the heart in his hand, shards raining down on the floor, pieces of ruby and diamond falling to the floor.

Ultima gasped, falling into a silver sleep as Arin, Dan, and the crushed remnants of her heart fading away.

—-

A voice again, speaking so calmly as Ultima’s mind spiraled out of her reach. “The moon knows you. It only had an idea of you before, but now it truly knows you. Now it has your heart. Now it has your mind. All that’s left is your soul. And oh how easily the souls of the willing fall in the light of the moon.” 


	37. The Ultima(te) Power Trip (Pyrrhic Victory Screech)

Ultima pulled herself out into the waking world. 

She tried to get her bearings, struggling with a thin sheet of fabric covering her.

“-and we can increase the export to the entire galaxy if she comes through for me. But the dust almost has her. And once she’s-” Sicario was pacing the room, speaking into a small communicator. He stopped, finally seeing that Ultima was awake. “We’ll finish this later.”

Ultima sat up, furrowing her brow at Sicario. “What was that all about?”

Sicario closed the communicator. “Do not ask questions.” He ordered, glaring at her. Immediately afterward, her turned on his heel. “Come with me.”

Ultima sighed heavily, standing up shakily. She followed Sicario out of the tent, trying to discern what it was that he wanted.

“The last time I sent you out to mine Moonstone, you did something rather peculiar.” He stopped before the pile of rocks that had almost killed her and Mastola just a few days ago. Sicario turned to look at her, pointing to the rocks. “Destroy these rocks.”

Ultima crossed her arms. “Why should I?”

Sicario snapped his fingers, and a guard grabbed Ultima’s shoulder, holding a sword against her throat.

Ultima’s eyes widened, staring at Sicario. “Go ahead. I don’t care if you kill me.” She voiced indignantly, suddenly finding a will of pure iron inside her.

Sicario looked up at the guard, and spun his finger. The guard turned Ultima around, and she was faced with a terrible sight.

The five women that she had shared a tent with were lined up behind her-like an execution.

Five guards stood behind five women, holding swords to their throats; identical to the way that Ultima was currently restrained.

“Defy my orders, and these women will die.” Sicario stated plainly. “And I doubt you want so much blood on your hands.”

Ultima closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. “I’m sorry.” She whispered, looking back at Sicario, feeling a blade just graze her throat. “I’ll do it.” She stared at Sicario.

He smiled in success, snapping his fingers again. Ultima was released from the guards’ grasp, stumbling forward slightly.

She walked up to the rubble, furrowing her brow. “And you want all of these rocks gone?  
“Yes, I’ve seen you move sand, you can do this.” He mused, tilting his head up to look down his nose at her.

“That is an incredible leap in logic.” Ultima muttered, looking at the rocks.

“Are you implying that you cannot accomplish this task?” Sicario’s face darkened.

She shook her head, looking at the rocks. “Just give me a moment.” Ultima thought, staring at the rocks intensely. She held her hands out like she was pressing them against a wall.

Warmth began spreading from her hands and up to her arms, the red gem at the base of her throat started glowing like the filament of an oven. Ultima began curling her hands as the rubble before her trembled, the sound of breaking rock echoing across the sandy wastes.

Ultima closed her eyes with the effort of her powers, a great pressure building in her head. A thin trickle of blood came out of her right eye as the first few rocks began to crack in preparation to crumble. Ultima fully closed her hands into fists, the rocks exploding into ever smaller pieces, and her nose began bleeding in earnest.

Once the rubbles was reduced into mere pebbles, Ultima fell to her knees, her chest rising with her heavy breaths.

“Excellent.” Sicario grinned, snapping his fingers again. A guard moved forward to hoist Ultima over his shoulder. “Take her to my tent. See to it that she is healed.”

As the guard left with Ultima, Sicario turned to one of the guards. “Take the other five back to their tent. And…send for that quadruple-eyed assassin. I have need of him.” 


	38. Smoke And Mirrors (In The World of Hitmen and Assassins)

Ultima woke up and immediately had no idea where she was. 

Turning on her side, she spied a table and a sleeping Sicario on a cot across the room. The fabric walls that comprised the tent were aglow with light-it was a full moon out tonight.

Ultima stood up, carefully tip-toeing out of the tent. She stared up at the clear sky of Seritutem, the stars unlike any she’d ever seen before while living on Earth.

Something twitched in Ultima’s mind, and she turned just in time to see a swift figure moving towards the tent the miners were in.

She started running towards the shape. “Stop!” She shouted.

Faster than she could blink, the same figure flickered forward, the flash of a dagger moving towards her face. A plume of sand rose up to knock the dagger out of its’ hands, momentarily phasing the assailant.

In the light of the full moon, Ultima noticed a myriad of details very quickly. Firstly, the attacker was clearly male-the least of her worries as he very persistently tried to snuff out her life. Secondly, he had four eyes. A mop of light brown hair hung over his right eyes, and a black mask was pulled up to cover his mouth.

The four eyes were her doom. Ultima was taken aback by this alien feature and it gave the assassin the opportunity to pin her to the ground, knife pressed to her throat.

Ultima froze in fear as he reached up to take off his mask. She closed her eyes, fearing the worst. She expected a swift death; what she got was far more confusing.

She felt two alien tongues press against her mouth from one pair of lips. She might have even enjoyed herself, had the context of the kiss not been so terrifying.

As the assassin pulled away, he replaced his mask in place, and Ultima felt her mind being opened.

It was as if her mind was comprised entirely of duty volumes in a massive library. Rapidly, her memories were yanked from the shelves violently, and she relived them in rapid succession. Then, the night Dan and Ultima first kissed.

The memory lingered in her mind for far too long, paused on the moment. Then a voice broke through.

“Who are you?” The assassin’s voice rang through her head. Only she hadn’t really heard him speak out loud. The voice seemed to exist distinctly in her mind.  

“You’re not gonna kill me?” She asked aloud.

The thin man stood up, staring down at her, staring at the gem that was glowing at the base of her throat. He looked back at the tent that his targets slept in.

“Don’t kill them. Whatever Sicario’s paying you for it, it’s not worth it,and he won’t care. He just wants them gone.”

The man looked at her, furrowing his brow.

“Move them off planet. I-I don’t know, just move them to next one over, he won’t notice.”

He stared at her, eyes unblinking. His hand moved forward to tap her forehead, and Ultima sank back into sleep.


	39. A Surprise Arrival (Extricated From A Painful Situation)

Suzy briskly walked into the Araneae ShipDock, accompanied by a messenger informing her of the situation.

“What’s happened?” She asked him.

“We found five women in dock 4. It’s almost as if they appeared without any clear form of transport.”

“That’s impossible. No organic ships?”

“None.”

Suzylanya stopped at Dock 4, standing before five human women. Strangely enough, only five Araneae, as a planet, took some getting used to.

“Hello.” Suzy began nodding towards the only woman awake. She had auburn hair flecked throughout with black stripes. “What is your name? What is your home planet?”

The woman looked up at Suzy. “Mastola Terrio, from Seritutem. Is-is this Araneae?”

“It is. What can you remember?”

“I was a moonstone miner for Sicario Immortio back on Seritutem. But…we’re not all here.” She looked back at the four unconscious women. “Ultima’s not here.”

“Ultima?” Suzy asked. “Did she have a red stone implanted on the base of her throat?”

“Yeah! You know, I never really considered that as weird.”

“Did she also have hair that reached down to her ankles?”

“She kept it in a braid, but yeah.”

Suzy turned to the messenger. “Inform Commander Egoraptor immediately.”

“Commander Egoraptor? He’s here?” Mastola sat up, sudden excitement crossing her face.

“Yes. Once you and your companions wake up, we’ll need you to tell him and his crew everything you know about Sicario and Ultima. Time is of the essence.”


	40. Shatter The Mirror To Peel Off The Tain

Ultima woke up on the sand just outside of the miner’s tent. 

The moon was still hanging low in the sky, and dawn was just a few hours away.

She brushed herself off and peeked into the tent-relieved to see that all of the women were no longer present. On the other hand, it was entirely possible that the assassin hadn’t kept his word.

But with the five women in possible safety, she knew that there was nothing standing between her and Sicario.

One of the many benefits of walking on sand is that it hides the sound of your footsteps. So it wasn’t too difficult for Ultima to sneak back into Sicario’s tent to look for the moon dust crafting box.

She took the box out to the tent where the miners were being kept. She sat down on her old cot, setting everything up to create moon dust with shaking hands.

When all was said and done, Ultima carefully picked up the dish with the moon dust, careful not to let any of it touch her skin. She layed back on cot, resting the metal heating plate on her stomach.

After taking one long breath, she tipped the moon dust onto her hand, falling back into the chromatic nightmare

—-

Ultima came to with Dan’s hands running through her hair. She opened her eyes, staring up into his eyes.

“You again.” She sighed, looking around the room for Arin. “What are you doing?” She sat up, quickly rising to her feet. The silver outline was now filled up to the shoulders with red, and Arin was standing before it, observing it pensively.

“Arin.” She replied, walking towards him. She placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him to face her.

His eyes were just as undilated as before, but now the pupil was a thin line of silver instead of black. She stumbled back in surprise, squinting at him. “Okay, honestly, what?”

Arin reached forward, but his hand was no longer gloved. Instead, his claws were extended in a gross parody of him, curved into black hooks. Ultima sidestepped out of his reach. “Stop!” She shouted, holding her hands out infront of herself. “Neither of you are real. None-none of this was real.”

Arin and Dan seemed to blur forward, each one grabbing Ultima’s arms. In that same instance, the once white walls of the room were suddenly painted over with silver.

A wave of red energy exploded off of Ultima’s body, shattering the walls like a thin mirror.

—

Ultima jolted awake and threw up off the side of the cot, coughing harshly. Once she got her bearings, she noticed that the vomit looked like a puddle of mercury.

She wiped her mouth off on her arm, breathing heavily. Ultima stood up, clenching her hands into fists.

With the spell of the moon dust broken, her purpose couldn’t have been more clear. 

Sicario was done for. 


	41. She Really Rocked The World, Didn't She? (Power and Control)

Ultima walked out of the tent and towards the outcropping of rock that she and Mastola had almost been crushed under just days before. 

She squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath to focus her on the outcropping of rocks.

She brought her hand down to slice through the air, peeling a sheet of rock off of the side of the valley. She repeated the sequence with her opposite hand, and soon enough she had five solid sheets of rock.

Ultima lifted the sheets above her head, bringing them over to Sicario’s tent. She carefully brought them down to wall in his tent. When the first sheet of stone slammed down on the side of the tent, Sicario yelped in surprise, emerging from his tent.

“Ultima! What are you-” He shouted, running towards her.

She stomped her foot, sending a wave of sand forward to push him back into his tent. “Stay inside! You don’t get to touch me again!”

“Guards! Restrain her!” He shouted in a pale imitation of authority, now truly frightened.

Six guards emerged from behind the tent, seemingly out of nowhere. They stood before Ultima, swords drawn.

Once the five sheets of rock were back in place, Ultima stepped back, squinting at the guards. They had silver lining their eyes. She held her hands out, trying to find the moon dust inside them.

She didn’t know why she never put it together, but the moon dust was made out of stone-she could control it. When she found the silver in their stomachs, she pulled upwards, the moon dust struggling against her power, unwilling to release its’ hold on their minds and bodies.

The guards fell to their knees, vomiting out piles of silver, shaking and falling unconscious. One of them looked up at Ultima, shaking her head. “Thank you.” She whispered before falling unconscious.

Ultima blinked heavily, shaking as she stared at her hands. “You’re welcome.” She breathed heavily, falling to her knees.

Ultima turned to the sky, praying that the projection would pull through for her.

“Arin, if I’m right about this, then you can hear me. And, you also saw everything that just went down.” The same warmth spread over her hand, and she curled them around where she felt Arin reaching out to her. “But my work here is done.” She sighed, laying back on the sand. “I’m gonna just take a nap now, okay? Okay…” She closed her eyes, slipping into a thankfully nightmare free sleep. 


	42. Queens In Their Own Right

Ultima woke up to the soft hum of a landing spaceship. 

She held her hand up in front of her face to stop the sand from blinding her.

She got to her feet, eyes bleary from sleep. Once the ship landed, she sighed in relief to see the Starbomb landing on the sandy clearing several yards away.

Arin exited the Starbomb first, running forward throw his arms around Ultima. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head on his shoulder. “Hey.”

“I had no idea you were this strong.” He whispered, pulling away. “Are you okay?”

“You mean other than not getting to change my clothes in, what, several days? I’m good.” She turned back to the guards that were still unconscious behind her. “But we need to worry about them first. I think Sicario had them all addicted to moon dust.”

“He definitely gave them moon dust made with his own blood. Ultima, you didn’t take any dust with his blood in it, did you?”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. Now, he’s still in his little rock cage, and I’m guessing you’ll want him alive.”

“Not for me. Suzy will want him to sit in judgement.”

“Suzy?” She turned to a regal black haired woman with four arms.

“Greetings, Bomber Ultima Espa Ranza.” Suzy nodded to Ultima. “My name is Queen Suzylanya Araneae of the planet Araneae. And I wanted to personally thank you for capturing Sicario.”

“You’re welcome.” Suzy walked back to the supporting ships to coordinate the medical arrangements for the unconscious guards.

“Come on. Everyone’s waiting for you back on board.” Arin nodded to Ultima.

“Good. I’ve got something to do.”


	43. Start Therapy Now, Before The Nightmares Set In (Hospital Bed Realizations)

Upon entering the Starbomb, Ultima was immediately wrapped into a large hug, provided by Dan. 

He hugged her tightly, crushing her to his chest.

“Hey Dan. How-” She stopped, feeling the gem on Dan’s stomach pressing against her.

All at once, the effect that her nightmares had had on her came thundering back into her mind. “No, no!” Ultima pushed away from Dan, red tendrils of energy crackling with electricity around her hands. “Don’t touch me!”

The orange gem that Dan had been carrying in his pocket sparked to life, responding to the energy in Ultima.

Dan reached into his pocket, pulling out the shaking orange crystal, confusion eclipsing whatever he’d been feeling when Ultima pushed out of his embrace.

The gem flew into Ultima, knocking her back as it exploded into orange light, wrapping her in it.

When it finally faded away, two things were apparent. She now had two gems at the base of her throat. The orange gem was planted directly above the red one, the two shimmering with energy before they calmed down into a low buzz.

Secondly, Ultima was now unconscious, a spot of orange glittering lights in the curls of her hair

—

Ultima woke up on a cot in the medical wing of Araneae. When she tried to pry her eyes open, she found that her eyes were covered with a thin cold layer of-something.

She reached up to pull it away, a warm hand stopping her fingers. “Don’t remove the web. It’s not ready.”

“Suzy?” Ultima asked, turning to the voice. “Who else is here in this room?”

“It’s just you and I. Arin is getting information from the mining women in order to get information for Sicario’s trial. It would appear that Mastola never tires of spinning tales of your heroism.”

“Mastola? Are all four of them here?”

“Yes. They appeared in our Shipdock with no sign of a ship.”

“Good, good. The assassin kept his word.”

“Assassin?”

“After Sicario saw that I could do the work of a thousand miners at once, he had one of my guards take me to his tent. When I woke up,  I went outside and saw an assassin moving towards the tent of miner women. I fought him, but when I noticed that he had three eyes, it threw me off.”

“A four eyed assassin?” Suzy blinked.

“Yeah. I thought he was gonna kill me too, but, then he kissed me.”

“That doesn’t sound like any assassin I’ve ever known.”

“You sound well-versed in the world of hitmen and assassins.”

“I’m royalty. It comes with the territory.”

Ultima laughed nervously. “I guess, but there was something else.”

“Go on.”

“When the assassin kissed me, it-it was like he he downloaded my memories. After that, he didn’t seem so intent on getting rid of me.”

“You’ve been through a great ordeal, Lady Ultima.” Suzy reached out to pull the covering off of Ultima’s eyes. “But the moon dust has been completely removed from your body. As for the damage its’ done to your mind, I can only hope that the Bombers will give you the support you need in order to heal.”

Ultima looked down, biting her lips. “I hope so, too.”


	44. Psychological Independence (Flying Right Out Of Dodge)

Sicario’s trial didn’t last very long. 

It wasn’t as if it would-in the face of overwhelming evidence. Once the seven miner women and Ultima gave their testimonies, Suzy sentenced him to work on Araneae in the medical wing. On top of community service, she ordered him to have his tongue removed. For never letting the women of Seritutem speak for themselves, Sicario would never be allowed to speak for himself.

In any other context, it would be a cruel punishment. But most were glad to watch Sicario pay for his crimes.

As for the moon dust crafting kit, it was decided that it would be better off burned. Ultima didn’t involve herself with the investigation on Seritutem beyond freeing Sicario from his rocky tomb. And she felt better off that way.

When all was settled, the women who were rescued from Seritutem thought it better to go back to Seritutem. Trade lines were set up between Araneae and Seritutem again. Though it would take years, the miners went back with the hope that now their lives would truly improve.

On the last night that the Bombers were to stay on Araneae, Ultima, and Dan were up late discussing the past month’s events, with Ultima placing specific emphasis on the dreams that she’d had while under the influence of moon dust, and the new gem that she had on her throat.

“That’s really what you saw?” Dan asked. “Why would you keep taking it if that’s what you dreamt about?”

“I-missed you guys. You and Arin. The dust screws with your head so much. I took it the second time because I’d only taken it by accident the first time. I wanted to be sure of what I saw, dream or not.”

“Still, you took it a third time, didn’t you? That should’ve gotten you hooked on it.”

“I’m getting to that. When I was in the dream the third time, it was too changed. I realized that it wasn’t really you and Arin.”

“Still. You kicked sentient drugs out of your system and broke a valley apart through the sheer power of your mind. If that’s not quitting cold turkey, I don’t know what is. That’s fucking incredible.”

“Thanks.” She laughed, putting her hand on her cheek. The red and orange gems at the base of her throat sparked with energy.

“So, new gem?” He asked.

“Yeah. How did you have it?”

“It was in the ruins, in the cave with the dragon. I guess when Sicario stabbed it, it just fell out. I picked it up, and I didn’t even think about it when I was doing it.”

“Convenient. Finding these things would be a lot easier with a map.”

“Would there be any reason as to why it was inside a dragon to begin with?”

“I don’t think so. Who knows what these things do at this point?”

“Even you don’t know, huh?”

“Not really.” Ultima sighed, reaching out to take his hand. “I’m sorry, about how I reacted when I saw you.”

“I-I don’t blame you.” Dan blinked, scooching over to hug her. “You were out of your coma for like, what a week? And then Red’s projection snatches my body and tries to eat you. It was a lot to take in.”

“Yeah. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” She looked down at the gem on his stomach.

“What?” Dan asked.

“I can move rocks. I can manipulate them. And the gem on your stomach hasn’t shown any signs of shrinking down or anything. So maybe, I can remove it.” She looked up at Dan.

Dan wanted to cry. “Ultima, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“No, I can do it. I want to do this.”

“Whoa, I-okay. Should I do anything?”

“I think you’re good, just relax.” She placed her hands on the gem on Dan’s stomach, and closed her eyes. Her skin began glowing with a bright red energy, and a concentrated, warm buzz of energy radiated out of Dan’s stomach. It was the same static that he felt when his feet fell asleep, but it was warm. Comforting.

Then Dan felt the gem crack, and when Ultima pulled her hands away, she held the shards of a faded ruby, rapidly dissipating into nothing.

“Holy shit, Ultima, are you okay?” He asked, carefully tilting her head up to look her in the eyes.

She laughed, putting her right hand over his own. “I just took a rock that was implanted in your skin out of you, and you want to know if I’m okay?”

Dan shook his head, holding her close to his chest. “You matter more.”

—

Suzy approached Arin as he was preparing a flight plan for the Bombers’ next job. Easy things, that would give Ultima the chance to study up on alien lifeforms, to learn how to fight before flying into missions blind.

“You want to come with us?” Arin asked, perplexed.

“Yes. If what you have told me of Ultima is true, then helping her is bigger than keeping my crown.” She expained.

“Your sister, then, will be taking the throne?”

“Yes. We’re both well versed in the duties of it. We’ve plans in the event that one of us wants to leave.”

“I believe you. How’s your aim?”

“Perfect.” She grinned, holding up all eight of her arms.

“Welcome aboard.” Arin reached out to shake one of her eight hands.

—

The next morning, the Bombers set off, their newest member joining them in as many months.

Arin gave Suzy a custom made Bomber jacket with enough sleeves for all eight of her arms, and she asked for eight blasters.

Residents of Araneae have impeccable aim.


	45. And She Tastes Like The Stars (Teeth And Tenderness)

Arin tracked Ultima down to the kitchen, where she was moving a clump of dirt over the table.

He sat beside her, watching the dirt move along just at the mere suggestion of her fingers. “Having fun?”

“Kind of. I dunno. After breaking the side of a mountain off, it’s relaxing to have just this to do.” She moved the dirt back into a cup on the table, sighing as she sat back.

“So, new gem?” He asked, pointing at her throat.

“Yeah, it’s there. I guess. I’m not sure yet what it controls, what it will help me move.” Ultima looked over at him.

“Well, hopefully we don’t have to expose you to an act of God just to get you to activate it.”

Ultima laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t need an act of God to find my powers. I just need myself.” She took his hand, standing up. “Come on, let’s go to my cabin.”

Ultima led Arin back to her cabin, not looking him in the eye as she did so. This puzzled Arin, but he’d learned not to question most of Ultima’s quirks. Everything she did had a reason, even if it wasn’t clear to him at the moment.

When they got to the cabin, Ultima sat on the bed across from Arin, staring at his face.

“Ultima, what is it?” Arin asked.

She leaned forward and kissed him, holding his face in her hands. Arin wrapped his arms around her shoulders, slowly pushing her back into the bed, Ultima responding in kind by leaning back.

When her head sank into the pillow, Ultima pulled away, staring into his eyes.

“Dilated…dilated.” She whispered, unbuttoning the clasps on his jacket, latching her lips to his.

As pale fangs dragged across tanned skin, flurries of red and orange light lifted from Ultima’s skin.

Tiny pinpricks of light swirled into galaxies, filling the room with the light. And as the two reached the zenith of their passions, these galaxies twirled with greater frenzy, enveloping them in a protective glow.

—

“Arin, I’m more than okay, I’m celestial.” She replied to his inquiry for what felt like the fifth time in as many minutes.

He ran his hands across her shoulders, kissing a bite mark that decorated her shoulder. “I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.” He whispered, kissing her forehead. “Is there anything you need? A towel, something for the bites?”

Ultima smiled, looking up at him. “Arin, I haven’t had sex in nearly five thousand years. I’m way past okay.” She pecked his nose, Arin screeching happily. She jumped at the sound.

Arin immediately returned to his worried phase. “What’s wrong? Shit, did I scare you?”

“Arin, Arin, listen.” She placed his hands on the sides of his face. “I didn’t scare me when you screeched during. I just wasn’t expecting it. It’s just so…un-Captain like of you. But hey, I do feel a little thirsty.”

Arin knocked on the wall just above Ultima’s bed, a panel sliding open to reveal a bottle of water. Ultima looked up in surprise after Arin grabbed the water bottle, handing it to her.

“Are those built into every room?” She asked, opening the bottle.

“Yeah. Plus, Barry knows we’re in here.”

“He’s not, watching us, is he?” She asked.

“No, he’s not.” She kissed her forehead. “Plus, these rooms are soundproof.”

Ultima nodded, holding the bottle. She tipped the bottle back, pouring water over her hand.

Her orange gem began glowing, and the water paused, swirling into an amorphous blob of water in her palm.  

Arin stared, a slow grin spreading across his face. “New power?” He asked, looking over at her.

She nodded, smiling nervously at him. “New power.”


	46. Epilogue: The Aftermath Of Passion (No Rest For The Weary Or Wicked)

Arin tied his hair up into a bun, pulling his pink command jacket on. 

Ultima looked up at him, furrowing her brow.

“You look good with your hair up like that.” Arin turned back to her. “I didn’t know you had a tattoo on your neck.”

“I don’t.” He replied, perplexed.

“Then what’s the spiral on your neck?”  

Arin stepped into the bathroom, twisting his neck around in order to get a better look at it.

“Hold on.” Arin turned to Ultima, pointing to her left shoulder. “Is it Creatia?”

Ultima stood on her toes to get a better [view of the spiral on Arin’s neck. ](http://dannyaviclan.tumblr.com/post/131202953549/so-i-just-read-the-epilogue-of-part-2-in-6901-and)She traced the shape from its’ center, singing the same entrancing tone she had before.

When she finished singing the Creatia, she opened her eyes and looked up at Arin.

“It says…paramour. Paramour to the Stars.”

—

Arin and Ultima walked into the kitchen, apparently interrupting Dan’s breakfast. He looked up at Arin. “Something’s different. When did you get a tattoo, Arin?”

“It’s not a-uh…” Arin rubbed the mark self-consciously.

“We had sex last night, and when we woke up, it was just…there.” Ultima replied honestly, sitting across from Dan.

“But, that, what?” Dan asked in confusion. “You can’t just drop that on me and not-”

Ultima took Dan’s hand, squeezing it. “Dan, I don’t have a concrete answer for you. It just happened.” She kissed his knuckles, patting his hand reassuringly. “Be gentle with your mind, Dan. You deserve that rest.”

Dan squeezed her hand in kind.

And then something in his DNA twisted into place, like his soul was a garden being tilled to grow his doom unaware.

Now one question remained: who would reap the rewards of this villainous gardening?

—

In the dark corners, in the ether of the universe, the First God was smiling. It was not a familiar feeling, but he would allow it now. His victory was within reach.

“The Vessel is almost complete.” He grinned, staring into the outer reaches of the universe. “But it’s missing that most important ingredient-fear.”

He bent down to pick up a clod of blackened dirt from the ground at his feet, molding it slowly.

When he was done, he was pleased at the creature he had created. It was just another in his long line of Timorics.

They were pleasing to the eye-small, round, furry, large round eyes. They might even be called ‘cute’.

He patted the Timoric’s head, the small creature growling in happiness. “You know what you must do, little one.” The First God stepped to the precipice of his cavernous home, releasing the Timoric into the ether of space. It disappeared at his urging words. “Find the Vessel. Plant the fear in his mind.” The First God grinned again, the strain hurting his face. “I am ready for him.”


End file.
